Colombia Halts Aerial Coca Eradication after WHO Glyphosate Cancer Ruling

May 15, 2015 | Doug Weir
View Original

As predicted on this blog in March, the classification of the commonly used herbicide Glyphosate as a Group 2A carcinogen by the WHO’s International Agency for Cancer (IARC) has placed pressure on the Colombian government to end aerial coca eradication.

In a ruling by Colombia’s National Narcotics Council on May 14th, the government elected to end the long running and controversial programme. The council, which oversees national drug policy, had been considering a recommendation from the health minister made in response to IARC’s decision. A previous precautionary ruling from Colombia’s constitutional court found that the programme should be stopped if evidence of human health risks emerged. IARC’s decision that Glyphosate is a possible human carcinogen appears to have been sufficient to trigger the ban.