Coca & Cocaine

Articles on cocaine and crack cocaine, including its production, use, and distribution.

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Coca & Cocaine

A poster depicting Colombian president Abelardo de la Espriella

“There Will Be Rollback’: Colombia’s New Right-Wing Government is Coming for Coca

Aug 17, 2026

In December 2025, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declined Bolivia and Colombia’s request to reclassify the coca leaf – a…

The neighbourhood of Santafé in Bogotá, Colombia.

Coca & Cocaine Drug Harm Reduction

‘Violence is our daily bread here’: Rethinking Harm Reduction from the Streets of Colombia

Sam Shirley-Beavan

Jul 16, 2026

What do we mean by drug-related harm? For those of us working in harm reduction, that is an essential question…

Two police offers stand over an arrested man laying on the floor.

Coca & Cocaine Drug Trafficking

Europe’s Northern Gateway: Inside the Cocaine Trade in Belgium and the Netherlands

Jonathan Alpeyrie

Jul 7, 2026

By any traditional metric, Belgium and the Netherlands are among the most stable, prosperous, and administratively efficient societies in the…

Colombia's outgoing President Gustavo Petro.

Coca & Cocaine Drug Policy Drug Trafficking

Colombia After Petro: The Unfinished Business of Petro’s Drug Policy Reform

Niko Vorobyov

Jun 8, 2026

On 25 April, a bomb shattered the Pan-American Highway in Cauca, southwest Colombia. 21 were killed in the deadliest attack…

Coca & Cocaine Drug Policy

How Bolivia’s Legal Coca Industry Challenges Drug Prohibition

Niko Vorobyov

Dec 24, 2025

In Rio Blanco, a village perched on a mountainside overlooking a picturesque, tropical valley in Bolivia’s Yungas region, Crisologo Mendoza’s…

The WHO flag next to someone holding coca leaves against a mountain backdrop.

Coca & Cocaine Drug Policy

Experts and Cultivators Condemn WHO’s Failure to Reschedule Coca

André Gomes

Dec 9, 2025

This week, the World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended that the coca leaf remain a Schedule I substance within international…

Coca & Cocaine Drug Policy Drug Trafficking

The Coca Paradox: To Regulate or Eradicate?

Ryan Hesketh

Oct 14, 2025

In 2024, both Peru and Bolivia seized record amounts of cocaine, according to statistics obtained by InSight Crime, seizing 24…

Coca & Cocaine Drugs & Development

Futuro Coca: A Chance to Reshape the Future of Coca

André Gomes

Sep 22, 2025

The latest edition of the Futuro Coca festival happened in July in Santa Marta, Colombia. The festival brought together indigenous,…

Coca & Cocaine Drug Policy Drug Trafficking

US Decertifies Colombia While Petro Reconsiders Aerial Glyphosate Spraying

André Gomes

Sep 17, 2025

The US Government has just updated its list of major drug producing or trafficking countries, criticising Colombia’s difficulties to control…

Coca & Cocaine Drug Policy

Upcoming WHO Coca Review: A Turning Point For Global Drug Policy

Ryan Hesketh

Sep 15, 2025

In November, the World Health Organisation (WHO) will issue its long-awaited recommendation on whether the coca leaf should remain listed…

Coca & Cocaine

Vin Mariani: From Health Tonic to Moral Panic

Ryan Hesketh

Mar 31, 2025

Instead of a wine that makes you sleepy, imagine one that could keep you up and talking all night. Imagine…

Coca & Cocaine Drug Harm Reduction

Lisbon forced to close Safer Smoking Site Amid Funding Challenges

André Gomes

Mar 11, 2025

One of Lisbon’s drug consumption rooms was forced to close their smoking room in January due to funding challenges, limiting…