cannabisnews.com: Colombia Tries New Drug Eradication





Colombia Tries New Drug Eradication
Posted by FoM on July 07, 2000 at 08:39:09 PT
By The Associated Press
Source: New York Times
Colombia has agreed to work with the U.N. Drug Control Agency on field testing a fungicide that some experts believe has great potential for eradicating narcotics plants. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Thursday the fungicide is expected be tested over a two-year period and then ``it will be up to the government of Colombia to evaluate the results and determine the next steps.'' 
Colombian Environmental Minister Juan Mayr said the tests will be conducted outside of Colombia ``because any agent foreign to the native ecosystems of our country could present grave risks to the environment and human health.'' The statement, issued by his office in Bogota, was in a letter to The New York Times, which first reported the planned tests on Thursday. Mayr claimed his remarks had been misinterpreted. Mayr was quoted by the Times as saying in an interview: ``What we want is a program of research -- and only research -- on the use of biological controls against these crops.'' Advocates say the fungicide, known as fusarium oxysporum, could be the answer in the long search for a means of reversing what has been a steady growth in the production of coca leaf and opium poppy in Colombia. Colombian drug cartels have been able to offset extensive chemical spraying by opening up new areas for cultivating narcotics plants. The proponents say a big advantage of the fungus is that it grows naturally, is safe for the environment, and that decades must pass before a treated area is suitable again for growing narcotics plants. Agriculture Department tests have shown that the fungus will kill narcotics plants without harming other plants or animal life, advocates say. ``These micro-organisms have the potential to cripple drug crops before they are even harvested,'' one proponent, Republican Sen. Mike DeWine of Ohio, has said. DeWine was unavailable for comment on Thursday, but an aide said the Colombia decision was ``a positive step forward.'' A State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there will be other hurdles to clear if the tests show the product is feasible. The next problem would be to find a way to produce the fungicide in quantities that will yield the desired results. In addition, a delivery mechanism has to be found, the official said. Administration officials have become increasingly alarmed about the repeated failure of an extensive eradication program to reverse what they call an ``explosion'' in coca production in Colombia. A CIA estimate in January showed a substantial increase in coca cultivation, and there is no reason to believe the next estimate, due in January 2001, will not show another increase, the State Department official said. Congress recently approved legislation to provide $1.3 billion to Colombia to fight narcotraffickers and the insurgents who protect the drug trade. Washington (AP) Published: July 7, 2000Copyright 2000 The New York Times Company Related Articles:Yikes! Attack Of The Killer Fungus Is A Moldy Planhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6315.shtml Colombia Agrees To Test Herbicide On Cocahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6306.shtmlKiller Fungus Could Be Drug War Weaponhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6285.shtmlDrug Control or Bio Warfare? http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread5616.shtml Fusarium Infections - July 1995http://www.id.wustl.edu/docs/handouts/fusarium.html 
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help




Comment #4 posted by Dan B on July 09, 2000 at 01:49:56 PT:
Thanks, Nemo!  And now, more thoughts . . .
--"Agriculture Department tests have shown that the fungus will kill narcotics plants without harming other plants or animal life, advocates say."--"The proponents say a big advantage of the fungus is that it grows naturally, is safe for the environment, and that decades must pass before a treated area is suitable again for growing narcotics plants."First, who are these "advocates"? The companies that process the fungus into a spray? The pharmaceuticals companies that will reap great sums of money from their monopolies on plants not affected by the fungus? The senators and "representatives" who are in the pockets of these companies? The DEA, NIDA, and the PDFA? Of course these are the advocates, but we won't read it in this article. And all of these groups have a vested interest in destroying these plants, and none of them can be trusted to give accurate estimates of the potential environmental damage caused by this fungus.How do they define "grows naturally"? Does it grow naturaly in Columbian ecosystems? If so, why do we need to send it down there? In fact, if this fungus is so natural, and all it attacks is narcotics, why do narcotics grow in the first place? It would seem logical to me that if it feeds only on narcotics plants, it should naturally grow where those plants are grown. Why hasn't it wiped out our narcotics supply already?Third, how can they be sure it is safe for the environment? Fungus is spread by spores (thus the name "fusarium oxysporum," the latter word meaning, basically, "sharp spores"). Because the fungus will likely be sprayed, these spores will be flying through the air and will be inhaled by anyone in their path. What are the potential health risks of inhaling this sharp-spored fungus? Other tiny sharp things floating in the air (such as pollen and mold spores) cause irritation to mucous membranes in the eyes, nose and throat--causing sneezing and discomfort even for those who are not necessarily allergic. And some will be allergic to these spores; how will their bodies respond? Severe allergic reactions can lead to death. Could these spores trigger such allergic reactions in some people?In addition, it will be extremely difficult to spray (or otherwise distribute) this fungus without having some of it land outside the targeted area. How can we be certain that this fungus, designed to target a particular form of plant life, will not have unexpected effects on plant life other than that which produces narcotics? What, for example, will be the effect on coffee production?Third, because the fungus is a living organism, it will reproduce, thus offering it the opportunity for mutation. We know that living organisms tend to adapt to their surroundings, and when the coca fields are gone, you can bet that this little fungus won't remain dormant for long. Those with backgrounds in chaos theory (even a cursory knowledge will do, such as that information presented by Jeff Goldblum's character in Jurassic Park) know that one must always consider the unexpected, and when dealing with biological organisms the unexpected is virtually guaranteed.What spin will the U.S. Government use when this fungus begins to destroy other useful plant life? And what happens when it is sprayed on mature crops just before harvesting? Will people using the infected drugs suffer ill side effects? What will the U.S. Government use as its excuse for potential ailments or deaths that may occur as a result of ingesting this fungus? In short, the U. S. government is proposing--nay, insisting upon--biological warfare in its already-too-insane-for-words war on drugs. And the problem with biological warfare is that, despite all attempts to contain its effects, it will eventually find a way around those containment efforts. This plan cannot work.
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #3 posted by dddd on July 07, 2000 at 14:26:38 PT
drugs & fungus
Another outstanding commentary Dr. Nemo. I'll bet that pharmaceutical firms are also involved in fungus research with government grants,allowing them to further milk the cash cow. If you want to get astonished,and upset,check out the obscene profits that are had by "legal" drug companies.....dddd
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #2 posted by kaptinemo on July 07, 2000 at 11:08:30 PT:
The real 'method' behind seeming 'madness'
From the article in the link supplied by FoM:'Fusarium first attracted the attention of U.S. drug eradication scientists in the 1980s, and the USDAconducted secret research into using it against coca plantsstarting in 1988, according to the New York Times. Soviet scientists at the same time were investigating Fusarium, as other plant pathogens, as a biological weapon against opium poppies. The Soviets thought that wiping out opium production would undermine the finances of rebels fighting the Soviet presence in Afghanistan as well as potentially *eradicating the world supply of morphine*, (emphasis mine) which is derived from opium. Similar research continues, now supported by the United Nations Drug Control Program which is underwritten in part by the federal government.' (Note: The UNDCP, is headed by Pino Arlacchi, Barry's Italian Siamese twin; they apparently are joined at either the mouth or the anus. I can't tell which orifice they use when communicating, because the sounds they make are indistinguishable from rude bodily functions; mindless and inchoate.)A few weeks ago, when the first bits of information about this story were released, I had speculated that there might be ulterior, economically driven motives beside the obvious one of drug eradication. Given the fact that pharmaceutical companies everywhere are in a race to develop cannabis-based medicines 'without the high', it stands to reason that they also would want to corner the market on opiate-based pain-killers.Many years ago, I read a sci-fi story in an edition of ANALOG magazine, about what would happen if the US government was able to develop an bio-weapon that would attack the opium poppy, destroying the plant's ability to develop alkaloids, rendering it useless. The crux of the story was the elimination of the then 'heroin scourge' (this was about 1970; and the problem is still with us, even after 200 Billion dollars, 2 Million people in jail and God alone knows how many people dead.) The story was (of course) told with a right-wing bent to it; the addicts were all described as worthless, useless people undeserving of assistance and every bit deserving of the suffering of withdrawal pangs. Needless to say, since the only truly effective painkillers are based upon opiates, then how will a supply of opiates be maintained if the US is able to eradicate at will any poppy field anywhere in the world? At the very end, the author glossed over this question by cheerily positing that the US GOVERNMENT would have the only supply of effective pain-killers, and that physicians would have to be registered (a la the way the DEA has been doing it for the last 30 years) to get a supply.What the author *didn't* put any effort into explaining was this: Those companies that the US would contract for developing the 'natural' effective poppies would, of course, enjoy a *staggering profit base* that is, like cannabis, founded on the readily fecund nature of a simple plant. In other words, like oil, opiates left unaffected by fusarium would command top dollar because CARTELS WOULD CONTROL ACCESS.This, then, is the real intent behind the efforts of the US government and it's Korporate allies: the eventual control of all analgesic methods, to be 'entrusted' in the hands of pharmaceutical companies, to the enormous cost of the sick and pain-wracked of the world. WE ARE WITNESSING EXACTLY THE SAME KIND OF SCRAMBLE TO LOCK UP CANNABINOIDS BEHIND CORPORATE PATENTS (i.e. Marinol) AS I BELIEVE WE WILL SOON SEE DONE WITH OPIOIDS. The potential for abuse of this power is obvious: you may have to pass a political litmus test (a la piss tests) to get the drugs you need for life-sustaining surgery and it's painful aftermath.Need I say more? THIS MUST BE STOPPED!
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #1 posted by FoM on July 07, 2000 at 08:52:11 PT
Fighting The Drug War With Bio-Weapons 
Fighting The Drug War With Bio-Weapons Are they safe? Do they work? By Thomas HaydenNEWSWEEK WEB EXCLUSIVE    July 6 — The drug fight may be entering it’s next phase: bio warfare. Yesterday, U.S. and Colombian officials acknowledged that they had agreed to take a first step towards conducting what amounts to controlled biological warfare against the coca crops that are the source of Colombia’s cocaine.  Click to read the complete article.http://www.msnbc.com/news/429740.asp
[ Post Comment ]

Post Comment


Name: Optional Password: 
E-Mail: 
Subject: 
Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message]
Link URL: 
Link Title: