Coca in Debate: The Contradiction and Conflict Between the UN Drug Conventions and the Real World

Abstract

The traditional use of coca leaf is surrounded by contradictions in terms of the control mechanisms of the international drug conventions. The 1961 Convention establishes the leaf as a controlled substance in the body of its articles and in its schedules of dangerous drugs, and the 1988 Convention establishes its traditional use as permitted “where historical evidence exists.” The use of the leaf is present in a variety of contexts around the world, but mainly in the Andean Amazon region. This chapter will tell the on-going story of the long road toward international acceptance of the tradition of chewing coca leaf, which is paved with confusion, contradictions, and cultural richness. Several countries in South America have a legal base that allows for traditional use; still the international drug treaties do not recognize these, and attempts for change are blamed to “threated the integrity of the global drug control system.” This chapter tells the story of how the coca plant and its traditional uses have reached the status of public enemy.