Buzzo
Well-Known Member
Just received this in the email. (sorry about the formatting)
REPEATING MISTAKES OF THE PAST: ANOTHER MYCOHERBICIDE RESEARCH BILL
A REPORT BY THE DRUG POLICY ALLIANCE
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed a provision attached to the Office of National Drug Control Policy Reauthorization Act of 2006 (H.R. 2829) requiring that Mycoherbicides – toxic mold-like fungi that attack plants and other life forms, including mammals – be tested in field studies and used against drug crops in foreign drug-producing countries, such as Colombia and Afghanistan. The bill’s authors insinuate that the use of mycoherbicides against drug crops has not been adequately studied, which is completely false. As a vote in the Senate nears (expected sometime in April 2006) the following should be considered:
The use of mycoherbicides against drug crops has already been studied
and rejected by every U.S. government agency that has ever worked with
them. They were also rejected by the Andean Community of Nations and
the United Nations because of their non-selectivity, mutagenicity and
environmental toxicity on plants, people and microorganisms found in the
soil;
The proposed research is duplicative, holds no promise of success, and
represents therefore a massive waste of millions of taxpayer dollars; and
The proposed unilateral deployment of mycoherbicides by the United
States in foreign countries would be perceived globally as biological
warfare, and would likely increase support for the insurgencies in
Colombia and Afghanistan. Given all of the evidence against mycoherbicides, they should not even be considered for use by the U.S. government. In fact, the Mycoherbicides in question – Fusarium oxysporum and Pleospora papaveracea – have been thoroughly researched since the 1970s. The proposed amendment is extremely reckless and ignores some thirty years of scientific studies conducted by several U.S. and foreign government agencies on the use of mycoherbicides for drug crop eradication, both in the laboratory and the field. In each case, these mycoherbicides have been studied and rejected as far too unpredictable and unsafe for drug control by every U.S. government agency that
has studied them, including the Central Intelligence Agency, the Drug
Enforcement Administration, the State Department and the Department of
Agriculture. These toxins have even been “weaponized” - tested, mass-produced and stockpiled in the past by the major powers for use as chemical warfare agents. Mycoherbicides are considered “toxigenic” because they synthesize and secrete chemical toxins known as “mycotoxins” which attack their targets and even nontarget
organisms by dissolving their cell structures. As such they are “living chemical factories,” that produce toxins that can linger in the environment for long periods of time –months and even years. The mycoherbicides proposed for drug crop eradication contain toxins associated with chemical and biological warfare and have been shown to be toxic to various
forms of life.
The fungi themselves can mutate and change hosts, causing damage to other crops. Like any epidemic, mycoherbicides can migrate to areas beyond where they were originally used. Furthermore, there are already strains of the target coca crops that are resistant to mycoherbicides. If mycoherbicides were used against such resistant plants, they would not kill those plants but may kill off other crops, including food crops, and affect animal and human health.
If it becomes law, this bill will likely have very deleterious consequences for the United States and its relations with the rest of the world. The Andean Community of Nations (including Colombia), and the United Nations rejected mycoherbicides for drug crop eradication because of their non-selectivity, mutagenicity and environmental toxicity on plants, animals and microorganisms found in the soil. The proposed unilateral deployment of mycoherbicides by the United States in foreign countries would be perceived globally as biological warfare and considered a violation of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), and may increase support for the insurgencies in Colombia and Afghanistan.
We urge the Senate to pass no bill requiring that the U.S. government retest mycoherbicides in other countries and respectfully suggest that Senators remove the mycoherbicide provision from the 2006 the Office of National Drug Control Policy Reauthorization Act in conference committee.
REPEATING MISTAKES OF THE PAST: ANOTHER MYCOHERBICIDE RESEARCH BILL
A REPORT BY THE DRUG POLICY ALLIANCE
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The use of mycoherbicides against drug crops has already been studied
and rejected by every U.S. government agency that has ever worked with
them. They were also rejected by the Andean Community of Nations and
the United Nations because of their non-selectivity, mutagenicity and
environmental toxicity on plants, people and microorganisms found in the
soil;
The proposed research is duplicative, holds no promise of success, and
represents therefore a massive waste of millions of taxpayer dollars; and
The proposed unilateral deployment of mycoherbicides by the United
States in foreign countries would be perceived globally as biological
warfare, and would likely increase support for the insurgencies in
Colombia and Afghanistan. Given all of the evidence against mycoherbicides, they should not even be considered for use by the U.S. government. In fact, the Mycoherbicides in question – Fusarium oxysporum and Pleospora papaveracea – have been thoroughly researched since the 1970s. The proposed amendment is extremely reckless and ignores some thirty years of scientific studies conducted by several U.S. and foreign government agencies on the use of mycoherbicides for drug crop eradication, both in the laboratory and the field. In each case, these mycoherbicides have been studied and rejected as far too unpredictable and unsafe for drug control by every U.S. government agency that
has studied them, including the Central Intelligence Agency, the Drug
Enforcement Administration, the State Department and the Department of
Agriculture. These toxins have even been “weaponized” - tested, mass-produced and stockpiled in the past by the major powers for use as chemical warfare agents. Mycoherbicides are considered “toxigenic” because they synthesize and secrete chemical toxins known as “mycotoxins” which attack their targets and even nontarget
organisms by dissolving their cell structures. As such they are “living chemical factories,” that produce toxins that can linger in the environment for long periods of time –months and even years. The mycoherbicides proposed for drug crop eradication contain toxins associated with chemical and biological warfare and have been shown to be toxic to various
forms of life.
The fungi themselves can mutate and change hosts, causing damage to other crops. Like any epidemic, mycoherbicides can migrate to areas beyond where they were originally used. Furthermore, there are already strains of the target coca crops that are resistant to mycoherbicides. If mycoherbicides were used against such resistant plants, they would not kill those plants but may kill off other crops, including food crops, and affect animal and human health.
If it becomes law, this bill will likely have very deleterious consequences for the United States and its relations with the rest of the world. The Andean Community of Nations (including Colombia), and the United Nations rejected mycoherbicides for drug crop eradication because of their non-selectivity, mutagenicity and environmental toxicity on plants, animals and microorganisms found in the soil. The proposed unilateral deployment of mycoherbicides by the United States in foreign countries would be perceived globally as biological warfare and considered a violation of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), and may increase support for the insurgencies in Colombia and Afghanistan.
We urge the Senate to pass no bill requiring that the U.S. government retest mycoherbicides in other countries and respectfully suggest that Senators remove the mycoherbicide provision from the 2006 the Office of National Drug Control Policy Reauthorization Act in conference committee.
