The critical review of the coca leaf: an opportunity to reevaluate the agricultural product and its potential uses

The prohibition of coca leaves (Erythroxylum spp.) originated a few years after the conquest began. In 1573, Philip II issued ordinances attempting to regulate production, improve workers’ conditions, and exercise some form of control over the plant and its uses. At the end of the colonial period, this regulation led to a ban imposed by the church following the Council of Lima, which ended in 1583. It is not entirely surprising that today the countries of the Andean-Amazonian region still have a legacy of prohibitionist attitudes and regulations. The legal introduction of prohibition, meanwhile, intensified in the first half of the 20th century, when legislation was introduced in the republic that paved the way for the approval, in the second half of the century, of the international drug control conventions that today form the framework for international prohibition.

There are several positions on the prohibition of psychoactive substances derived from the three plants most valued by ancient cultures worldwide: cannabis, coca leaf, and poppy, each with its own unique characteristics and opportunities for transformation. In the case of Colombia, we cannot ignore the fact that for many peasant families, coca cultivation is a means of subsistence that has allowed them to access capital in the midst of adverse conditions and conflict. Amid the global prohibition of coca and cocaine, coca farmers, pressured by economic necessity or by armed actors, ended up linked to the drug trafficking economy, where all actors in the economy are illegalized.  

From another point of view, this moment of critical review allows us to place in a global context the possibility of articulating the potential uses of the coca leaf in the food, textile, dye, pharmaceutical, and nutraceutical sectors, and to provide opportunities for agricultural producers in different regions, both Andean and Amazonian. Studies conducted to date show interesting data on the metabolites available in different samples of whole coca leaves, water and alcohol extracts made from the leaves, and macerated powdered leaves—also known as “coca flour.”

To achieve these products, a research process has been carried out with the active participation of residents of northern Cauca, in the reserves of San Francisco, Toribío, and Tacueyó, which make up the municipality of Toribío. They partnered together with a team of researchers, funded by SENA (the Colombian government’s National Learning Service, a free vocational training institution), with different disciplinary approaches ranging from pure chemistry to social work. In addition, researchers in food processing and gastronomy have joined the project, along with implementers of the Nasa Project, an economic initiative developed and led by community members belonging to the reserves and the Center for Education, Training, and Research for the Integral Development of the Community (CECIDIC), an educational space self-managed by the Nasa community. 

The results of this research will be officially published in 2026, but for now, we can disclose some important advances. Three products of importance to the community and with potential for regional commercialization have been identified: coca flour, fresh coca leaves, and coca tea. These products are well received by local consumers.  Once the products were identified through participatory workshops, samples were sent to the laboratory at the Industrial University of Santander (UIS), where their nutritional content was evaluated, as well as their alkaloid content, such as ecgonine and cocaine, showing insignificant traces of each alkaloid. 

The overall results of these analyses show, on the one hand, that the leaf is a potential source of crude protein, iron, and calcium.

On the other hand, it shows that the presentation of the final products and the recoverability of the alkaloids that can be transformed into cocaine is unfeasible in economic and technical terms, since their concentration in these presentations would increase the raw material requirement by at least 200% if they were taken as a source for transformation into cocaine hydrochloride. To put it in common terms, at least 284 bags of coca tea would be required to produce one gram of cocaine hydrochloride, in addition to the technology that must be available for this transformation, which complicates the process of converting the tea into hydrochloride. 

The opportunity to critically review the arguments that led the prohibition system to include the coca leaf in its natural state on the list of most dangerous substances brings the general public closer to this region. Here, natural resources are valued in their entirety, taking into account their nutritional contributions, as well as what is not perceptible by positivist science.

The path of critical review of the coca leaf and its possibilities of being removed from Schedule I creates a crack in the prohibitionist system, understanding that, like politics, intergovernmental agreements are also dynamic and must respond to specific historical moments. Sixty years ago, the world revolved around post-war concerns. Today, we have the opportunity to improve the lives of thousands of families linked to coca leaf production in producing countries, bringing science, technology, and industrial processes closer to people whose knowledge has traditionally been excluded.