The Norm Prohibiting the Chewing of Coca Leaf: From the International System to the Colombian State

• Main Author: Julián Andrés Fernández López
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidad del Rosario, Bogota 2017-06-01
• Series: Desafíos
• Subjects: Indigenous rights; sociology of norms; drug policy
• Online Access: https://revistas.urosario.edu.co/index.php/desafios/article/view/5228

This article deals with the process of adopting international drug treaties in conformity with the Colombian legal system. International law establishes that substances that are considered illicit, including coca leaf, have legal uses exclusively for medical or scientific purposes. Consequently, the chewing of coca leaf by indigenous communities in the Andean States is mandated to disappear. The Colombian State has signed and ratified these international treaties, and has an obligation to respect its international commitments. Being a pluricultural nation with two formal and equal legal systems (indigenous and ordinary jurisdiction) and with the increased participation of native communities in Colombian politics, the task of implementing this obligation gives rise to a legal conundrum. The Colombian State faces two mutually exclusive obligations: One to its international commitments and another to respect for the rights of indigenous communities.