Colombia urges UN to remove coca leaf from harmful substances list

Foreign minister says legalisation of main ingredient of cocaine is only way to stop drug trafficking and violence

Colombia, whose president, Gustavo Petro, is a vocal critic of the US-led war on drugs, has urged the UN to remove coca - the main ingredient in cocaine - from a list of harmful substances.

Used not only for cocaine, the coca leaf is also chewed as a stimulant in countries such as Colombia, Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador, or brewed into a tea thought to combat altitude sickness.