-Caveat Lector-
Fungus Eyed As Drug Crop Killer
By George Gedda
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Government researchers are testing a fungus they
believe will kill narcotics plants without harming other crops or
animal life, a potential breakthrough aimed at cutting foreign production of
illegal drugs headed for the United States.
Congress has approved $23 million for further research into what are
known as "mycoherbicides," soil-borne fungi capable of eradicating
plants that provide the raw material for cocaine, heroin and marijuana.
The Clinton administration is far from unanimous about the innovation.
Skeptics say more testing must be done to prove the effectiveness and
safety of the technology and winning the support of governments of drug-
producing South American countries -- Colombia, Peru and Bolivia --
won't be easy. None has been briefed extensively, and none has taken a
public position.
The administration will get to sound out Colombian President Andres
Pastrana next week when he comes on a state visit to Washington. The
three South American countries are the only ones anywhere that produce
the base plant for cocaine.
The legislation was guided through Congress by Sen. Mike DeWine, R-
Ohio, and Rep. Bill McCollum, R-Fla. In addition to mycoherbicide
research, the legislation provides for promotion of alternative crops to
narcotics plants for South American farmers.
"These micro-organisms have the potential to cripple drug crops before
they are even harvested," DeWine said.
McCollum said the new crop eradication technology is much safer than
traditional strategies. "All of the indications are that this has the
potential for making a big difference in the drug war," he said. "This could
be the silver bullet."
House Foreign Relations Committee chairman Benjamin Gilman, R-N.Y.,
said the technology is "extremely effective, not costly, doesn't affect
the environment and is a good way of eradicating coca."
The United States has spent billions of dollars over the years with little
success in trying the slay the drug dragon. The "just say no" campaign
of the 1980s has been followed up by a government-sponsored media ad
blitz warning people of the dangers of drugs. Chemical sprays and
interdiction efforts have been used to cut supply. Still, an estimated 6.7
million addicts live in the country, and experts estimate that 13 million
Americans have used drugs in the last month.
U.S. officials believe South American countries can be persuaded to go
along with the program only if farmers have plausible alternatives to
narcotics plants. As one promising alternative, officials are touting
chocolate, derived from cacao trees, because it is a suitable alternative for
South American small farmers and the global market in the coming years is
expected to be tight.
Experiments by Agriculture Department scientists focus on isolating the
mycoherbicides that narcotics plants produce naturally. If, for example,
a coca plant is doused with the fungi, it wilts, and decades must pass
before the area is again suitable for growing coca. In addition, beans,
corn or other crops grown nearby are unaffected. Environmental Protection
Agency scientists believe no harm would come to humans or
animals as well. The same technologies can be applied to eradicate plants
used for marijuana and heroin.
Advocates and skeptics agree that the program will go nowhere without the
support of the drug-producing countries.
Unless the political groundwork is properly laid, farmers' unions or
environmental groups in the coca-growing countries could come out in
opposition, nullifying the possibility of cooperation, officials say. They also
are bracing themselves for allegations that Washington is planning
biological warfare against these countries.
The costs of drug addiction are obvious: 14,218 drug-related deaths in
1995, and the price to society each year is $67 billion, according to the
Office of National Drug Control Policy. President Clinton has set a goal of a 50
percent decrease in drug addiction in 10 years, but advocates
of the new crop eradication technologies believe that goal is too modest.
AP-NY-10-22-98 1436EDT
Copyright 1998 The Associated Press
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