Wisdom of the Leaf

Shaping a visionary future for Coca.

Speakers and Recordings

The McKenna Academy of Natural Philosophy, in collaboration with Wade Davis, will host the Wisdom of the Leaf Coca Summit from February 3 – 7, 2025 at the breathtaking Willka T’ika retreat center, nestled in the Sacred Valley of Peru.

speakers & recordings

Andy Weil

Andy Weil

Medical doctor

The Sacred Coca Plant, an 8.000 Year History and The Fight to Liberate it

Anthony Henman, PhD

Anthony Henman, PhD

Anthropologist and author: Mama Coca

Pharmacology 101: Why the Effects of Coca Are Different to Cocaine

Carmen Posada Monroy

Carmen Posada Monroy

Founder: Futuro Coca Festival

The Value of Understanding the Cultural Significance of the Coca Plant in Regulatory Debates

Caroline S. Conzelman, PhD

Caroline S. Conzelman, PhD

Teaching Professor, University of Colorado Boulder

Coca Leaf, Participatory Democracy, and Critical Drug Pedagogy in Bolivia: Lessons from an Ethnographic Journey

Daniel Montoya, PhD

Daniel Montoya, PhD

Founder: Khoka Project

Khoka Project: Re-imagining the Coca Plant at the Intersection of Art, Science, and Technology

Dawson White, PhD

Dawson White, PhD

Ethnobotanist

The Complex Evolutionary History of Coca

Dennis McKenna

Dennis McKenna

Ethnopharmacologist

Rediscovering Spirit in Medicine

Dennis McKenna

Dennis McKenna

Ethnopharmacologist

Introduction and Welcome to the Coca Summit

Faisal Tisnés

Faisal Tisnés

Photographer

Working on “Kuka Saruy”

Imikã Tarirú

Imikã Tarirú

Tubu Hummurimassa Tribe

Traditional Discussion of the Story and Future of Coca

Jaime Pumarejo

Jaime Pumarejo

Ex-Mayor Barranquilla, Colombia

A Pragmatic’s Context and Roadmap for Policy Reform and Public Perception

Jaison Pérez Villafaña

Jaison Pérez Villafaña

Indigenous activist

The Sacred Coca Leaf: An Arhuaco Perspective

Kasia Malinowska-Sempruch, PhD

Kasia Malinowska-Sempruch, PhD

Founding Director: Global Drug Policy Program OSF

Coca Regulation: Overcoming Obstacles and Advancing Global Reform

Maria Alejandra Vélez, PhD

Maria Alejandra Vélez, PhD

Professor of Economics, Bogotá

Opportunities and Regulatory Challenges for Coca Leaf in the Context of the Ongoing War on Cocaine

Martin Jelsma, PhD

Martin Jelsma, PhD

Drug Policy Reform Specialist

Descheduling Coca: Challenges and Outcome Scenarios of the WHO Review

Oscar Alejandro Pérez Escobar, PhD

Oscar Alejandro Pérez Escobar, PhD

Evolutionary biologist and Taxonomist

Demystifying the World's Most Misunderstood Plant: Bridging Traditional Knowledge and Science

Ricardo Soberón

Ricardo Soberón

Drug Policy Expert

A Political Overview on Public Policies Towards Drugs, Coca and Cocaine From a Human Rights Approach

Steve King, PhD

Steve King, PhD

Ethnobotanist

Potential Development of Coca Leaf as New Botanical Medicines

Susana Mejía, PhD

Susana Mejía, PhD

Environmentalist

Khoka Project: Re-imagining the Coca Plant at the Intersection of Art, Science, and Technology

Wade Davis

Wade Davis

Anthropologist

"Wisdom of the Leaf" Coca Summit Welcome