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Drug Policy Forum of Florida | National/International Organizations
Fusarium OxysporumDiscussion and points of viewFrom: galovenguth <galovenguth@email.msn.com> Subject: Date: Saturday, July 31, 1999 4:16 AM From: galovenguth <galovenguth@email.msn.com> To: cunninr@gvillesun.com <cunninr@gvillesun.com> Cc: galovenguth <galovenguth@email.msn.com> Subject: killer fungus coming to Gainesville? Date: Tuesday, July 27, 1999 2:33 PM Today's New York Times story regarding the plant eating fungus to be tested in North Florida, and the growth of cement plants appear to me to be a larger plan than most people might realize. Is it possible that south Florida politicians are involved in their own covert action? I believe this group wants to destroy the soils of North Central Florida, widen the roads heading westward to the gulf, where the ongoings of future oil related industry will develop? They have already done away with the fishing industry. Will the destruction of the agricultural industry be next? I can only hope that the voting public will elect a Senator who appreciates saving of North Central Florida soils, pastures, aquafiers and our fresh air. I saw what Agent Orange does from my experience in the Republic of S. Vietnam. The government officials of that time thought it was safe and we all know the reality of that. Again, we need to vote for a highly environmentally responsible Senator, not one who is sponsoring the implemention of the fungus; Fusarium Oxysporum. G. A. Lovenguth 791 se 140 ave. Williston, Fl 32696 352-528-3235From: galovenguth <galovenguth@email.msn.com> Subject: Date: Wednesday, July 28, 1999 6:11 AM The quaratine unit to test citra canker in Gainesville, Florida was proper only because citrus no longer grows in North Central Florida. Should this fungus, Fusarium Oxysporum, be initiated to test it would be wiser to have the quarantine site in an area where the soils are already spoiled. North Central Florida soils are vital and productive. The possibility of an outbreak of the fungus from the Gainesville facility would do infinite harm to the North Central Florida farmland. The quarantine unit must be located elsewhere; not Gainesville, Florida.From: galovenguth <galovenguth@email.msn.com> To: cowan@marijuananews.com <cowan@marijuananews.com> Cc: galovenguth <galovenguth@email.msn.com> Subject: killer fungus in FL Date: Sunday, July 25, 1999 1:12 PM How might I obtain the list of the State officials who received literature from the Montana ag/bio con? I have 30+ acres in Williston, Florida and I don't want any fungus on it. Also, how can anyone of even limited intellect even consider implimenting a killer virus into Florida. These State officials must be on the take. I really would like their names as I will search out my belief; the montana ag/bio con. gave these State officials more than just literature. Thanks to reading this. George A. Lovenguth PS: I saw what agent orange did in vietnam, Dupont and a few Government officials also thought it was a good idea. Please email me a list of those officials who received literature from the Montana ag/bio con? From: galovenguth <galovenguth@email.msn.com> Subject: Date: Saturday, July 31, 1999 3:57 AM From: Majordomo@mapinc.org <Majordomo@mapinc.org> To: galovenguth@email.msn.com <galovenguth@email.msn.com> Subject: DND: US FL: PUB LTE: The Folly Of The Fungus Date: Saturday, July 31, 1999 10:51 AM -- ] Subj: US FL: PUB LTE: The Folly Of The Fungus ] From: Manny Lovitto ] Date: Fri, 30 Jul 1999 20:04:30 -0700 ] URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n788.a01.html Newshawk: Manny Lovitto Pubdate: Wed, 28 July 1999 Source: St. Petersburg Times (FL) Copyright: 1999 St. Petersburg Times Contact: letters@sptimes.com Website: http://www.sptimes.com/ Forum: http://www.sptimes.com/Interact.html Author: Frank Clarke THE FOLLY OF THE FUNGUS Re: Killer Fungus Touted To Eradicate State Pot Crop. A friend once told me, "If it won't grow in Florida it's already dead." I believe he wasn't far off the mark. Now our state drug czar is talking about releasing a fungus into our environment to eradicate marijuana, and several concerned scientists are suggesting this might not be the best idea Florida ever had. Drug czar Jim McDonough says Florida is the ideal place to test the fungus because "we have a wonderful climate . . . for growing marijuana." And almost everything else. When the Romans wanted to put an end to the Carthaginians, they plowed Carthage's fields with salt, thus ensuring that no one would live or work there for many years to come. Is that what our drug czar is about to do to Florida? Frank Clarke, Oldsmar - --- MAP postFrom: Majordomo@mapinc.org <Majordomo@mapinc.org> To: galovenguth@email.msn.com <galovenguth@email.msn.com> Subject: DND: US: Silver Bullet Or Poison Chalice: The Biowar Against Drugs Date: Tuesday, July 27, 1999 6:41 PM -- ] Subj: US: Silver Bullet Or Poison Chalice: The Biowar Against Drugs ] From: Tom O'Connell ] Date: Thu, 20 May 1999 21:52:49 -0700 ] URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n533.a11.html Newshawk: Tom O'Connell Pubdate: June, 1999 Source: Scientific American (US) Page: 75 Copyright: 1999 Scientific American, Inc Contact: editors@sciam.com Website: http://www.sciam.com/ Note: This short article appeared as a side bar on a longer article, "Biologicel Warfare Against Crops," by Paul Rogers, Simon Whitby, & Malcolm Dundo, all biological warfare experts from Bradford University in England. SILVER BULLET OR POISON CHALICE: THE BIOWAR AGAINST DRUGS Last year the U.S. Congress approved a $23-million antidrug program that includes research on plant pathogens. Among the target plants are those that produce narcotics such as cocaine, heroin and marijuana. Advocates of the program hail it as a potential breakthrough. Representative Bill McCollum of Florida, one of the co-sponsors of the legislation, said, "All of the indications are that this has the potential for making a big difference in the drug war.... This could be the silver bullet." Article I of the 1972 Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) bans the development, production and stockpiling of biological agents intended "for hostile purposes or in armed conflict." Also outlawed are biological weapons "that have no justification for prophylactic, protective or other peaceful purposes." Proponents of the use of plant pathogens against drug crops therefore point out that they would be used in cooperative proqrams with states in which the drugs are produced. Opponents of the plans have three concerns. One is that induced epidemics might, in some circumstances, spread to other plants. Another is that plant pathogens could be used in drug-proclucing regions without the consent of the state in question. Whereas such use might be popular with antidrug agencies, it would almost certainly breach the BTWC and also set a dangerous precedent. The greatest concern, however, is that the development of a capability to destroy drug crops with plant pathogens will inevitably provide a wealth of knowledge and practical experience that could readily be applied in much more aggressive, offensive biological warfare targeting food crops. - - Paul Rogers, Simon Whitby, & Malcolm Dundo - --- MAP From: Majordomo@mapinc.org <Majordomo@mapinc.org> To: galovenguth@email.msn.com <galovenguth@email.msn.com> Subject: DND: US FL: Editorial: Marijuana-Killing Fungus Too Risky Date: Tuesday, July 27, 1999 6:31 PM -- ] Subj: US FL: Editorial: Marijuana-Killing Fungus Too Risky ] From: Steve Heath ] Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1999 21:19:13 -0700 ] URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n752.a02.html Newshawk: Steve Heath Pubdate: Tue, July 20 1999 Source: St. Petersburg Times (FL) Copyright: 1999 St. Petersburg Times Contact: letters@sptimes.com Website: http://www.sptimes.com/ Forum: http://www.sptimes.com/Interact.html MARIJUANA-KILLING FUNGUS TOO RISKY Whoever first said "the cure is worse than the disease" could have been talking about Florida's history of trying to eradicate one environmental problem by creating a bigger one. Now the state's new drug czar is suggesting we consider introducing a killer fungus that will destroy the state's illicit marijuana crop. The problem is, we don't know what else the fungus will kill. State drug czar Jim McDonough has been holding meetings in Tallahassee trying to drum up support for the testing of Fusarium oxysporum, a soil-borne fungus. He wants tests to occur in a state quarantine facility in Gainesville, where other bio-control materials are evaluated for safety and effectiveness. Ag/Bio Con., the Montana company that is developing the marijuana killer, says the fungus "does not affect animals, humans or any other crops." But scientists at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection suggest otherwise and are warning that there could be serious consequences for releasing the mycoherbicide. In a letter to McDonough, DEP Secretary David Struhs expressed grave concern over the possibility of the fungus mutating and attacking other plant species. "Mutation of the organism would not only threaten Florida's natural environment, but would also put at risk our economically vital agricultural industry," Struhs wrote. Due to Florida's warm soil conditions, a fungus can survive for as long as 40 years. The idea is shockingly dangerous and, even if it worked, wouldn't affect a large portion of the marijuana grown in the state since much of it is grown indoors. When marijuana is cultivated outdoors it is often dispersed among crops and other plantings. Last year only 55,000 marijuana plants were confiscated throughout the state. Compare that figure to a state such as Hawaii where a half-million plants were confiscated in 1996. The problem isn't severe enough to warrant the risk of releasing a deadly marauding fungus, no matter how many laboratory tests ultimately say the organism is safe. Florida's past experience with introducing exotic species to tame an environmental problem have proved disastrous. The thirsty Australian melaleuca was introduced by government foresters to help drain the Everglades. Now, of course, we want the Everglades protected and rehydrated. Yet, like a pestilence, the melaleuca trees have spread all over South Florida, drinking precious water and slowly parching the river of grass. Kudzu, a Chinese vine, was also brought here by the government, as a natural erosion ontrol. It's exceptionally rapid growth of up to a foot per day has overtaken other species. Florida's warm climate makes it particularly vulnerable to unintended consequences of exotic botanicals. Introducing a killer fungus with a 40-year life span into this ecosystem in order to destroy a relatively modest marijuana crop is just not worth the risk. - --- MAP posted-by: maFrom: Majordomo@mapinc.org <Majordomo@mapinc.org> To: galovenguth@email.msn.com <galovenguth@email.msn.com> Subject: DND: US GE: The Drug War's Fungal Solution? Date: Tuesday, July 27, 1999 6:37 PM -- ] Subj: US GE: The Drug War's Fungal Solution? ] From: Steve Young ] Date: Wed, 24 Jun 1998 23:40:46 -0400 Newshawk: Steve Young Pubdate: Spring 1998 Source: Covert Action Quarterly Contact: caq@igc.org Website: http://www.caq.com Author: Jim Hogshire THE DRUG WAR'S FUNGAL SOLUTION? The USDA has been tinkering with the genetic code of a dangerous fungus trying to target and wipe out the Andean coca and poppy crops. But if anything goes wrong, the fusarium fungus may end up destroying food crops and a whole lot more. This past August, a piece of good news came from the maze of nameless buildings at the USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) in Beltsville, Maryland. Dr. Deborah R. Fravel, a plant pathologist at the laboratory for Biocontrol of Plant Diseases (BCPD) had turned the tables on a nasty, tomato-eating fungus called Fusarium oxysporum. She had developed a "benign" strain of the fungus that "inoculates" the tomatoes, much as a vaccine protects a child against certain diseases. And the fungus is nasty. A virulent mutation of fusarium, called "Race 3" has been a bane to Florida and Georgia farmers who have trouble controlling it with even the strongest fungicides. Around the world, fusarium also destroys watermelons, chickpeas, basil, bananas, and hundreds of other crops. The blight, in all its myriad permutations, can lie dormant in the soil for years without a host plant and then springs to life, causing devastating "wilt disease." Fear of introducing the disease is one reason Japan is loath to accept US produce. While some strains of this fungus are relatively harmless to most plants, other types of fusarium can produce mycotoxins poisonous to humans. The Fungus Among Us But the USDA press release was warm and fuzzy describing "good" fungi "helping plants to help themselves." There was no mention of Fravel's part in dozens of projects aimed at producing a lethal, but "natural" herbicide from the same fungus for a very different purpose. Fravel's efforts are part of a cabal of scientists working hand in hand with the DEA, the State Department, and foreign governments to produce an herbicide designed to effect the drug war's Final Solution: total elimination of the world's illicit coca crops and opium poppies - the same goal recently announced by the United Nations. Fravel's boss at the BCPD, Dr. Robert D. Lumsden, is a prominent figure in the eradication research program. Lumsden's work with mutant strains of Fusaruim oxysporum over the past few years has taken him to sites around the world and across the country. At the University of Montana in Bozeman, he and another ARS plant pathologist, Dr. Bryan A. Bailey, are in the midst of a five-year study of the toxic effects of F. oxysporum and other fungi on opium poppies and marijuana. According to one of Lumsden's reports, unlike chemical herbicides, "these naturally-occurring fungi are safe for humans and the environment." Lumsden worked with Bailey to develop a granular formulation fusarium mycotoxin, for testing at sites "foreign and domestic." A government coca field in Hawaii was eventually used to test the mycotoxin, along with traditional chemical herbicides. A 1995 study of fusarium herbicide showed "significant kill" of coca bushes while other studies indicate a 60 to 90 percent kill-rate for opium poppies. When scientists no-ticed that ants sometimes carried away the poison pellets, Fravel and Bailey looked for ways to make them more attractive to the insects - so they would take the herbicide deeper into the soil. The ants (which preferred their pellets flavored with olive oil) were found to carry the fungus both "outside and inside their bodies." Changing Genes Later research by Bailey and others identified the gene responsible for one strain's deadly effects on coca. They then developed a way "to allow alteration of the gene expression." They began to play with the fungus' genetic code. The ARS's long-standing interest in manipulating the fusarium fungus is revealed in a series of studies it commissioned. One experiment set out "to construct a genetic map of Fusarium moniliforme" and "to identify mutants that affect the synthesis of" its mycotoxins. Another study proposed "the development of strains with enhanced pathogenicity" that could wipe out coca plants "using molecular genetic manipulations involving fungal proteins." The ARS branch in Ft. Detrick, Maryland, carried out the "successful transformation of Fusarium oxysporum" by "DNA sequence encoding." Claiming that it would have "limited environmental impact," another ARS study acknowledged that a "biocontrol strategy for coca" using Fusarium oxssporum had been "developed and successfully field tested in small scale trials." Researchers hint that they took their cue for the mycotoxin from a naturally occurring outbreak of fusarium wilt destroying crops in Peru's Upper Huallaga valley. An ongoing ARS project, begun in 1993, noted: "Studies of a naturally-occurring epidemic of fusarium wilt in Peru have been concluded which verify that the epidemic is progressing and causing significant disease in the coca producing regions of Peru. Already, the natural epidemic of fusarium wilt in the coca producing areas of Peru is causing farmers to abandon their fields. A protein produced by Fusarium oxysporum which is toxic to E. coca has been purified and its gene cloned. The data indicate that a bioherbicide using Fusarium oxysporum which is effective against coca can be produced and proof of concept field tests are being initiated." As early as 1991, Peruvian campesinos testified that they witnessed helicopters carrying DEA agents and Peruvian police dropping pellets containing the fungus onto coca fields; however, there is no other solid evidence to support the allegation that the pellets actually contained fusariurn. Other press accounts allege a direct link between the DEA and the use of fusarium: "The US Drug Enforcement Administration resumed full cooperation with the Peruvian police in 1994, when [the] strategy shifted to destroying illegal coca plantations using a mushroom known scientifically as fusarium and colloquially among the peasants as 'the coca-eater.'" Because there are so many strains or races of fusarium, it may not be possible to determine if this outbreak affecting coca and other crops is a result of natural causes or human intervention. Eat Stuff and Die The problem with creating any "bug" that will eat just one thing and then obediently cease to exist is obvious. All life-forms mutate and adapt, especially a simple organism like a fungus; sooner or later it will learn to eat something else. A similar situation occurred in 1971, when Richard Nixon misinterpreted a theory about "an insect which could consume poppy crops" and then die. Nixon, preoccupied by this imaginary weevil, by then dubbed the "screw worm" (because it was supposed to die after intercourse), asked Congress for funding. When Nixon's advisors could not be assured that this "screw worm" would be host specific - i.e., it might eat the worid's supply of poppy crops and then adapt to another host, such as rice or wheat - they lost interest in the project. Eventually even these knuckleheads dropped the idea. But research into doper bugs continued. In 1996, Bailey, Lumsden, and Fravel - - working on a project at North Carolina State University in Raleigh - wrote that their finely tuned pathogen "kills only coca and does not harm other plants." A recently launched study, however, suggests that the fusarium formulas are still not specific enough. One ARS investigator is studying the "ubiquitous species-complex of Fusarium oxysponum [that] is currently being investigated as a biological control agent. However, this fungus encompasses broad genetic variability that has not yet been delineated." There is, the researcher continues, "still a need to characterize genetically the strains that attach Erthrroxylon [coca] and/or Papaver [poppies] as well as those that occur in soils and on crop plants growing in close proximity." Translation: the innumerable strains of the fungus could possibly attack adjacent crops and do God-knows-what to everything else. Perversely, the government touts the fungus project as environmentally friendly because it avoids the use of chemicals. For years, the US has browbeaten Andean pro-ducer countries into using US-produced herbicides such as Roundup (glyphosate), and to kill off the "source" of the US drug problem. The Andean nations have balked, arguing that US consumer demand drives production, not the other way around. With the threat of withholding millions in aid dollars to bolster its side, Washington has demanded eradication. Local growers are then left not only without a cash crop, but sick from the toxic effects of the herbicides. Protests over the health effects of herbicides prompted Bolivia and Peru to stand up to Washington and prohibit Roundup--like herbicides for coca and poppy eradication. In early March 1996, Colombia abruptly halted herbicide fumigation in retaliation for being "decertified" for not complying with US drug war demands. Humans exposed to Monsanto Corporation's Roundup - the current chemical of choice - can suffer damage to the stomach, heart, kidneys, lungs and skin. Glyphosate, according to a 1993 study by the University of California Berkeley School of Public Health, was the third most commonly-reported cause of pesticide illness among agricultural workers. Another study from the Berkeley school found that it was the most frequently reported cause of pesticide illness among landscape maintenance workers. As a drug eradication chemical, glyphosate has another problem: It can be washed off for 8 hours after it is sprayed on, making it vulnerable to rain - and farmers who rush into the freshly poisoned fields to wash the toxins off their crops. Armed with the more potent herbicide Spike (tebuthiuron), the US is now pushing to use that defoliant in the drug war. Manufactured by Dow AgroSciences (formerly DowElanco and then Eli Lilly before that merger), the use of tebuthiuron has been hawked in Congress by Rep. Dan Bunon (R-IN) - a longtime recipient of money from both Indianapolis based-Eli Lilly and Dow. While killer fungi and many poisonous herbicides are not approved for use in the US, people in developing countries often have no say in what toxins are released in their communities. If some US officials have their way unilateral decision-making could become the norm. At a hearing he chaired on "certification" of nations in the drug war, Dan Burton told the State Department's narcotics point man, Robert Gelbard, how to handle countries that refused to be defoliated: "Tell the president [sic] of Peru and Bolivia at about 5:00 in the morning, 'We've got a bunch of aircraft carriers out here, and we're coming down through those valleys, and we're gonna drop this stuff, this tebuthiuron...' I think we should consider, if this really is a war on drugs, doing it unilaterally and violating the territorial boundaries of those countries and dropping that stuff. Now, I know that doesn't sit well with the State Department, but either we deal with it or our kids continue to suffer and our society continues to let this cancer grow." Whether "our" kids should be "protected" by poisoning "their" kids, however, is a policy issue that seems to escape US drug warriors. In their zeal to sound ever tougher on drug issues, Washington policy makers - together with fearless scientists eager to test their theories on other people's communities - may soon have a new biological doomsday weapon to unleash on their southern neighbors. At best, fusarium could become the latest bit of humiliation unilaterally rammed down the throat of Andean nations. At worst, the fungus could run amok unleashing the modern day equivalent of the Great Potato Famine. - --From: Majordomo@mapinc.org <Majordomo@mapinc.org> To: galovenguth@email.msn.com <galovenguth@email.msn.com> Subject: DND: US FL: Marijuana-Eating Fungus Seen As Potent Weapon, But At Date: Tuesday, July 27, 1999 4:57 PM -- ] Subj: US FL: Marijuana-Eating Fungus Seen As Potent Weapon, But At ] From: Julie Hymans ] Date: Tue, 27 Jul 1999 02:27:29 -0700 ] URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n768.a08.html Newshawk: Julie Hymans Pubdate: Tue, 27 Jul 1999 Source: New York Times (NY) Copyright: 1999 The New York Times Company Contact: letters@nytimes.com Website: http://www.nytimes.com/ Forum: http://www10.nytimes.com/comment/ Author: Rick Bragg MARIJUANA-EATING FUNGUS SEEN AS POTENT WEAPON, BUT AT WHAT COST? MIAMI -- For decades, the hard part for drug agents stalking Florida's marijuana growers was finding their crop. The growers weave their plants among corn stalks and even tomato vines to foil aerial searches. In swamps, growers make berms out of muck and chicken wire and plant their crop, leaving fat, black water moccasins to stand guard. Hidden in Florida's lush landscape, the camouflaged marijuana plants often foiled the small army of law officers, helicopters and drug-sniffing dogs. Now, the new head of the state's Office of Drug Control hopes to kill Florida's lucrative marijuana business in the very ground in which it thrives, by someday dusting suspected areas with a marijuana-eating, soil-borne fungus called Fusarium oxysporum. It is a plan that has some politicians and Florida drug enforcement officials excited, and some environmentalists worried. The fungus, a bioherbicide engineered specifically to attack plants like marijuana, is otherwise harmless, said the Montana company, Ag/Bio Con., that developed it. "Is it safe, and does it work?" asked Jim McDonough, who was hired by Gov. Jeb Bush earlier this year to head Florida's Office of Drug Control. "I've heard some of the top scientists in the country say 'yes."' But McDonough, who served as director of strategy for Barry McCaffrey, the White House drug czar, said the fungus will not be used here until it is tested in rigidly controlled conditions at a Florida test site. "When you deal with science, you deal with the cost of advancing and what is the cost of not advancing," said McDonough, who pointed out that 47 percent of all marijuana seized in the United States is taken here -- much of it home-grown. Most years, drug agents destroy more than 100,000 plants, and one year -- in 1992 -- they destroyed more than 240,000 plants. "With prudence and with care, make your choices," he said. "We'd be no place if we put our head in the sand." McDonough said he has not yet presented the plan to the governor. But Florida has seen its environment ravaged again and again by supposedly harmless plants that thrived so well in a damp, hot climate that they overwhelmed indigenous plants. So some environmentalists say introducing the fungus is risky, that it could mutate and cause disease, not only in wild plants but in crops as well. "I personally do not like the idea of messing with Mother Nature," said Bill Graves, senior biologist at the University of Florida Research Center in Homestead. "I believe that if this fungus is unleashed for this kind of problem, its going to create its own problems. If it isn't executed effectively, it's going to target and kill rare and endangered plants and I feel that this can lead to a much bigger problem." David Struhs, secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, spelled out the dangers in a letter to McDonough in April. "Fusarium species," he wrote, "are capable of evolving rapidly. Mutagenicity is by far the most disturbing factor in attempting to use a Fusarium species as a bioherbicide. "It is difficult, if not impossible," he wrote, "to control the spread of Fusarium species." The mutated fungi can cause disease in a large number of crops, including tomatoes, peppers, flowers, corn and vine crops, he wrote, and are "normally considered a threat to farmers as a pest, rather than as a pesticide. Fusarium species are more active in warm soils and can stay resident in the soil for years. Their longevity and enhanced activity under Florida conditions are of concern, as this could lead to an increased risk of mutagenicity." What that means, say environmentalists, is that living things behave differently in Florida than almost anywhere else in this country. "In principle, I am very supportive of using biological agents against narcotic plants," said Raghavan Charudattan, professor of plant pathology and weed science at the University of Florida, but "this needs to be researched well or it could lead to great danger." State officials have agreed to quarantine testing of the fungus -- at a facility outside Gainesville usually used for, among other things, studying citrus canker -- and for now any implementation of the fungus is probably years away. But McDonough already has the back of some powerful allies, including U.S. Rep. Bill McCollum, a Republican from Longwood. McDonough is planning to try to obtain part of a $23-million congressional allocation for research in eradicating plants like the poppy, used in heroin, and having an ally like McCollum could be very helpful. In Peru, angry farmers have recently accused the United States of using a soil fungus to destroy coca in the Upper Huallaga Valley, saying that the fungus has spread to banana, yucca, tangerine and other food crops, according to the Miami Herald. American officials, while acknowledging in June that they had spent $14 million on research to develop such biological agents against poppy, coca and marijuana, denied the charges. Here in Florida, history has taught scientists to be cautious of introducing any foreign, living thing into the environment. While pythons as long as pickup trucks have occasionally been found under houses in South Florida, most of the problems have been with vegetable matter. Kudzu, a Chinese vine that has grown rampant in the South since its introduction in the 1920s to thwart soil erosion, has swallowed houses and acres of roadside in Florida, growing a foot a day. Melaleuca trees, planted decades ago to help drain the Everglades because they suck up so much water, has infested hundreds of thousands of acres. Jerry Brooks, assistant director of the state Department of Environmental Protection's Division of Water Resources, said the difference between those plants and the fungus is that the state has learned to be careful. "Mistakes made in the past," Brooks said, "make sure proper precautions are being taken. It's been agreed that any testing needed to be done in quarantine. "They were not tested," he said of the infamous planFrom: Majordomo@mapinc.org <Majordomo@mapinc.org> To: galovenguth@email.msn.com <galovenguth@email.msn.com> Subject: DND: US FL: Killer Fungus Touted To Eradicate State Pot Crop Date: Tuesday, July 27, 1999 6:33 PM -- ] Subj: US FL: Killer Fungus Touted To Eradicate State Pot Crop ] From: Frank S. World ] Date: Sat, 17 Jul 1999 17:24:12 -0700 ] URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n738.a03.html Newshawk: Frank S. World Pubdate: Sat, 17 Jul 1999 Source: St. Petersburg Times (FL) Copyright: 1999 St. Petersburg Times Contact: letters@sptimes.com Website: http://www.sptimes.com/ Forum: http://www.sptimes.com/Interact.html Author: JULIE HAUSERMAN KILLER FUNGUS TOUTED TO ERADICATE STATE POT CROP TALLAHASSEE -- There's a killer fungus among us, and Florida's new drug czar Jim McDonough hopes to one day let it loose to murder the state's illegal marijuana crops. Only one problem: Scientists at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection fear the fungus could mutate, spread and kill off everything from tomatoes to endangered plants. McDonough, who came to Florida to join Gov. Jeb Bush's administration after working for White House drug czar Barry McCaffrey, has been holding meetings in Tallahassee to try to get state agencies on board with the idea of testing Fusarium oxysporum, a co-called "'mycoherbicide," in Florida. "'It's not been used yet," McDonough said, adding that if Florida were to test the soil-borne fungus, it would do so in a state quarantine facility in Gainesville, where researchers isolate citrus canker and other plant diseases. Before it could ever be released, it would need extensive review. The Montana company that is developing the killer fungus, Ag/Bio Con., gave state officials literature saying the fungus "does not affect animals, humans or any other crops." DEP scientists reached a far different conclusion: "It is difficult, if not impossible, to control the spread of Fusarium species," DEP Secretary David Struhs wrote in a letter to McDonough. "The inability to guarantee that the organism will not mutate and attack other plant species is of most concern. "Mutation of the organism would not only threaten Florida's natural environment, but would also put at risk our economically vital agricultural industry." Florida's warm soils, Struhs wrote, could make the mutation worse. The fungus can remain in the soil for as long as 40 years. "Without considerably more information to address the concerns noted above," Struhs wrote, "I strongly recommend that Florida not proceed further with this proposal." McDonough followed up with a letter to Struhs and Agriculture Commissioner Bob Crawford: "Before we conclude that it cannot be done," McDonough wrote, "let us take every opportunity to consider how it might be done safely." In June, both Struhs and Crawford signed off on the idea of quarantine testing in Gainesville, and that's as far as the proposal has gone. McDonough said he has not pitched the idea to Gov. Jeb Bush. McDonough has the backing of U.S. Rep. Bill McCollum, R-Longwood, who called mycoherbicides the "silver bullet" in the war on drugs. McCollum and U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., helped push for $23-million that Congress appropriated this year to eradicate plants that provide the raw material for cocaine, heroin and marijuana. The money is earmarked for research in foreign countries, but McDonough wants to see if he can get some of the funds for Florida. Tim Moore, commissioner for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, said the fungus could be a valuable addition to the state's anti-drug arsenal, as long as tests prove it is safe. Another supporter is Betty Sembler of St. Petersburg, wife of developer Mel Sembler, one of the Republican party's biggest fund-raisers. Mrs. Sembler is an anti-drug activist who founded the group Drug Free America. She says she supports the idea of using bio-control on drug crops because she thinks it is a better than spraying pesticides like Paraquat. Information provided by McCollum's office says, "There is no danger to the environment." An old Florida story Government foresters once spread the seeds of Australian melaleuca trees over the Everglades to help drain the swamp. Now, decades later, the state is waging a chemical and biological war against the noxious trees. Like arboreal shock troops, melaleuca trees have marched through the Everglades, draining wetlands years after the state decided that the Everglades were better off wet in the first place Kudzu, a Chinese vine, was distributed by the government to control erosion in the 1920s and soon became a botanical bully, growing as much as a foot per day. Water hyacinth, a plague in Florida lakes and rivers, was carried into the state by a woman who lived near Palatka. She saw the pretty floating flower at the World's Fair in New Orleans and brought it home to put in her fish pond. It spread, and now the state spends millions of tax dollars to spray pesticides into the water. In fact, Florida is so concerned about the spread of exotic plants that, last year, the Legislature more than doubled the amount of money set aside to battle botanical invaders on state lands during the next decade. "Our concern (with McDonough's proposal) is that we don't want to move forward with anything that creates more problems than it solves," said Jerry Brooks, assistant director of the DEP's division of water resources. Florida's pot crop On an average year, the state confiscates about 100,000 plants, Broadway said. North Florida typically has the biggest pot crops. But statewide, urban indoor growers have been harvesting more and more of Florida's homegrown cannabis. Last year, FDLE only confiscated about 55,000 plants, because drought and wildfires sent growers indoors. Pinellas County was second to Miami-Dade County in pot-growing arrests and indoor growing operations last year. Spreading a killer fungus wouldn't put a dent in the indoor crop, which is providing increasingly potent strains of marijuana. Predictably, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws said McDonough is proposing to use a sledgehammer to kill a flea. "'It looked like they wanted to debut these (mycoherbicides) in South America, but the governments down there didn't want any part of it. They didn't want to be America's guinea pigs," said Paul Armentano, a spokesman for NORML in Washington. "I'm pretty shocked to hear that someone would suggest testing this in an American state." But McDonough says Florida is the ideal place to test the fungus. "Unfortunately, we have a wonderful climate and a wonderful soil for growing marijuana," said McDonough. "I'm concerned about the supply. Florida is off the map in its marijuana usage. It is not a benign drug. It is a dangerous drug." FDLE Commissioner Moore agreed: "If there's some proven, safe way to augment our efforts to keep marijuana and its associated miseries off the street, then I'd support it." -From: Majordomo@mapinc.org <Majordomo@mapinc.org> To: galovenguth@email.msn.com <galovenguth@email.msn.com> Subject: DND: US FL: Magic Mushrooms Enlisted In War On Dope Date: Friday, July 30, 1999 10:11 AM -- ] Subj: US FL: Magic Mushrooms Enlisted In War On Dope ] From: Peter Webster ] Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 18:14:13 -0700 ] URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n782.a11.html Newshawk: Peter Webster Pubdate: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 Source: Independent, The (UK) Copyright: 1999 Independent Newspapers (UK) Ltd. Contact: letters@independent.co.uk Address: 1 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London E14 5DL Website: http://www.independent.co.uk/ Author: David Usborne, New York Related: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n752.a02.html http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n772.a08.html http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n768.a08.html MAGIC MUSHROOMS ENLISTED IN WAR ON DOPE The biggest environmental hot potato in Britain is genetically modified crops. But American politicians have fewer qualms. Drug enforcement agents in Florida think they have the perfect solution for eradicating marijuana crops in the state: dusting vast areas with a genetically engineered fungus which would kill the illicit plants but leave everything else unharmed. With its "Day of the Triffids" connotations, the project is highly controversial. But to the Florida Office of Drug Control it may offer the best hope for thwarting growers who nurture marijuana in plots that are often camouflaged to avoid aerial detection. Plants are interspersed among other crops or even grown on rafts in swamps. About 100,000 plants are seized in Florida annually. The plan's biggest champion is Jim McDonough, recently hired by Governor Jeb Bush to combat the Florida drugs industry. He has won permission to begin testing the fungus on a quarantined site outside Gainesville. Deployment of the fungus has also attracted crucial political support from a high-profile Florida congressman, Bill McCollum, who has called it the "silver bullet" in the war against marijuana cultivation. Among those sounding the alarm about the potential risks, however, is the head of the state's environmental protection agency, David Struhs. In a recent letter to Mr McDonough he warned that the fungus could spread and mutate todamage other plant life. "Mutation of the organism would not only threaten Florida's natural environment, but would also put at risk our economically vital agricultural industry," he wrote. "I strongly recommend that Florida not proceed further with this proposal." Florida has a history of organic cures that are worse than the disease. Huge sums are being spent on attacking the melaleuca tree, introduced from Australia in the twenties to drain the Everglades. Now the tree is everywhere and the state is trying to replenish waters in the Everglades. "The idea is shockingly dangerous," said The St Petersburg Times recently, pointing out that much of the illegal marijuana crop is grown indoors. - --- MAP posted-by: manemeFrom: Majordomo@mapinc.org <Majordomo@mapinc.org> To: galovenguth@email.msn.com <galovenguth@email.msn.com> Subject: DND: US FL: Pot-Eating Fungus Raises Mutation Fears Date: Thursday, July 29, 1999 9:08 PM -- ] Subj: US FL: Pot-Eating Fungus Raises Mutation Fears ] From: Martin Cooke <mjc1947@cyberclub.iol.ie> ] Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 03:10:06 -0700 ] URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n778.a02.html Newshawk: Martin Cooke <mjc1947@cyberclub.iol.ie> Pubdate: Wed, 28 July 1999 Source: Guardian, The (UK) Copyright: Guardian Media Group 1999 Contact: letters@guardian.co.uk Website: http://www.guardian.co.uk/ Author: Julian Borger, in Washington POT-EATING FUNGUS RAISES MUTATION FEARS Florida environmentalists voiced their anxiety yesterday about government plans to start testing a new marijuana-eating fungus as a possible weapon against the drug plantations hidden among the state's famous swamps. The fungus, Fusarium oxysporum, was cultivated in the laboratories of a Montana bio-engineering firm, and is designed to attack marijuana while leaving other plants untouched. But ecologists are concerned that it might mutate if sprayed on the fertile wetlands. Florida's newly appointed "drug tsar", Jim McDonough, stressed that no decision had been taken so far to use the fungus, but expressed optimism that it would pass safety tests. "Is it safe and does it work? I've heard some of the top scientists in the country say 'Yes'," Mr McDonough said. But Florida's environmental protection secretary, David Struhs, wrote to Mr McDonough warning him of the dangers of the pot-killing fungus. "Fusarium species are capable of evolving rapidly," he wrote. "Mutagenicity [the tendency to mutate] is by far the most disturbing factor in attempting to use a Fusarium species as a bio-herbicide." Mr Struhs said controlling the species was "difficult if not impossible" in Florida's hothouse climate, and it could lead to disease in crops like tomatoes, peppers and corn. In the past Florida's drug-busters have braved alligators and snakes by wading through the swamps because marijuana growers often make their plantations impossible to spot from the air by sowing them among corn and tomato vines. Last year the state managed to destroy more than 55,000 plants with a street value of $55m (pounds 35m). But the authorities believe that that represents a small percentage of the total annual crop, and there is pressure from the state's mainly Republican politicians to find new weapons. The US has spent $14m researching biological-weapons which could be used against poppy, coca and marijuana plants, but the findings are shrouded in secrecy. US officials denied recent accusations by Peruvian farmers that the Drug Enforcement Administration used a fungus to destroy coca plants in the war against cocaine. The farmers said the fungus had spread to banana, tangerine and other food crops. - --- MAP postFrom: Majordomo@mapinc.org <Majordomo@mapinc.org> To: galovenguth@email.msn.com <galovenguth@email.msn.com> Subject: DND: US FL: Fungus Might Fight Drugs Date: Wednesday, July 28, 1999 12:28 PM -- ] Subj: US FL: Fungus Might Fight Drugs ] From: Ginger Warbis ] Date: Tue, 27 Jul 1999 19:04:07 -0700 ] URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n772.a08.html Newshawk: Ginger Warbis Pubdate: Tue, 27 July 1999 Source: Miami Herald (FL) Copyright: 1999 The Miami Herald Contact: heralded@herald.com Address: One Herald Plaza, Miami FL 33132-1693 Fax: (305) 376-8950 Website: http://www.herald.com/ Forum: http://krwebx.infi.net/webxmulti/cgi-bin/WebX?mherald Author: Mark Silva, Senior Political Writer FUNGUS MIGHT FIGHT DRUGS TALLAHASSEE -- Just the thought of it troubles environmentalists: Combatting marijuana with a plant-killing fungus. But that's all it is at this juncture -- a thought -- says James McDonough, director of Florida's Office of Drug Control. And all he is even thinking about, he says, is a laboratory test, in quarantine. Two key state agencies -- the Departments of Agriculture and Environmental Protection -- have given approval for the start of tests in a quarantine lab that Agriculture operates in Gainesville. At the same time, they have warned the governor's office in a letter that they "want to make clear that this does not imply future approval of any outdoor testing" of the fungus. They also are asking that federal agencies are involved in the development of any research in quarantine. The governor's office has not decided to proceed with testing. "The status is, we are nowhere on it other than to ask questions as to whether it is both safe and useful -- safe for research testing and useful in terms that it could do some good," says McDonough. "The proposal is to test it, to see how it can be utilized -- if it can be utilized -- to control marijuana," says Albert Wollerman, general counsel for the drug control office. "There has been no decision to go ahead and begin such proceeding s." For 18 years, Florida has fought marijuana in plant-by-plant combat. Last year, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the state eradicated 55,311 plants. Their street value: $55.3 million. That is about half the plants killed the year before, however -- and almost one-fifth the toll taken at a high- point for marijuana eradication in 1992: 243,452 plants. "The cultivation of marijuana in 1998 was down along with all of the legal crops in Florida due to the effects of El Nino and other atmospheric conditions that created flood, droughts and wildfires," an FDLE report says. The substance in debate now is known as Fusarium oxysporum -- a herbicide. In Florida, talk of unleashing any biological agent leads to inevitable comparisons with kudzu, the weed that went wild, or Australian pine and melaleuca, trees that are the scourge of wetlands. "We tend to manipulate the environment sometimes with these biological introductions," says David Gluckman, lobbyist for the Florida Wildlife Federation. "We're paying the price for that now." But any discussion of letting a pot-killer loose in Florida is more than premature, the governor's office says. "It's almost in the, `Let's ask the question and see the answers phase,' " says McDonough, recruited by Gov. Jeb Bush to serve as "drug czar" in a Capitol that went without one for several years. "This must be one of 500 things I have asked about since I arrived in Florida -- including money laundering and what are the drug trafficking practices." - --- MFrom: Majordomo@mapinc.org <Majordomo@mapinc.org> To: galovenguth@email.msn.com <galovenguth@email.msn.com> Subject: DND: US FL: PUB LTE: Like An Ecological H-Bomb Date: Thursday, July 29, 1999 9:16 PM -- ] Subj: US FL: PUB LTE: Like An Ecological H-Bomb ] From: Manny Lovitto ] Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 09:23:03 -0700 ] URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n779.a09.html Newshawk: Manny Lovitto Pubdate: Wed 07/28 1999 Source: St. Petersburg Times (FL) Copyright: 1999 St. Petersburg Times Contact: letters@sptimes.com Website: http://www.sptimes.com/ Forum: http://www.sptimes.com/Interact.html Author: Robert Reppy, Clearwater LIKE AN ECOLOGICAL H-BOMB Typical. Jeb Bush's drug czar, Jim McDonough, wants to unleash a killer fungus on the state of Florida, all in the name of eliminating some marijuana weeds. Excuse us for being dense, but where is the urgent need that justifies the risk of this possible eco-catastrophe? Has there been a sudden rash of pot-crazed loonies causing mayhem and destruction? Has there been even one murder in the state attributed to marijuana? No. There has, in fact, been a steady erosion of the government's case justifying incarceration and criminalization of pot users, as medical evidence for addiction (none) or harm (flimsy) mounts up rather more on the beneficial side than the opposite. Further, future public attitudes may well change to regard this weed as a useful industrial crop, perhaps genetically stripped of its mild hallucinogenic properties. As a source for paper many times more efficient than wood, it could save millions of acres of forest every year. After all, it was once so important economically as a crop that the father of our country, George Washington, exhorted all patriotic Americans to plant some on their property. He did. The point is, Jeb Bush's drug czar is planning on using an ecological H-bomb to deal with a mosquito-sized social problem. It's not surprising for a Republican appointee to show zero environmental awareness; after all, he's working for a governor whose extra-political career is that of a real estate developer -- just about the nadir of environmentally friendly professions. The public should be howling for this man's dismissal for even contemplating such a thing. I urge your readers to fire off some e- mail to the governor to such effect today! Robert Reppy Clearwater - --- MAP posted-by: manemFrom: Majordomo@mapinc.org <Majordomo@mapinc.org> To: galovenguth@email.msn.com <galovenguth@email.msn.com> Subject: DND: US FL: PUB LTE: Playing God With The Environment Date: Friday, July 30, 1999 10:09 AM -- ] Subj: US FL: PUB LTE: Playing God With The Environment ] From: Manny Lovitto ] Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 18:39:22 -0700 ] URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n783.a03.html Newshawk: Manny Lovitto Pubdate: Wed 07/28 1999 Source: St. Petersburg Times (FL) Copyright: 1999 St. Petersburg Times Contact: letters@sptimes.com Website: http://www.sptimes.com/ Forum: http://www.sptimes.com/Interact.html Author: Eric Soyke, St. Petersburg PLAYING GOD WITH THE ENVIRONMENT I am dismayed at the proposal being discussed by the state of Florida's drug czar, Jim McDonough, to spread an experimental fungus throughout the Florida wilderness in an effort to eradicate pot. I find it difficult to believe that governments still believe themselves capable of playing God with the ecosystem in this day and age. This state's record of outstanding failures in this arena (kudzu and melaleuca are the most well known) should be argument enough, but there are even more reasons why this would be a colossal waste of taxpayer funds and an even bigger threat to our environment. As soon as any threat to growers became imminent, growers would simply move indoors and pay $2 for a bag of planting soil. Or -- wait -- does McDonough have a plan on the drawing board to treat our water? - --- MAP posted-by: Keith BrFrom: Majordomo@mapinc.org <Majordomo@mapinc.org> To: galovenguth@email.msn.com <galovenguth@email.msn.com> Subject: DND: US FL: PUB LTE: End This Impossible Drug War Date: Thursday, July 29, 1999 9:22 PM -- ] Subj: US FL: PUB LTE: End This Impossible Drug War ] From: Manny Lovitto ] Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 03:14:51 -0700 ] URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n778.a04.html Newshawk: Manny Lovitto Pubdate: Wed, 28 July 1999 Source: St. Petersburg Times (FL) Copyright: 1999 St. Petersburg Times Contact: letters@sptimes.com Website: http://www.sptimes.com/ Forum: http://www.sptimes.com/Interact.html Author: Stephen Heath END THIS IMPOSSIBLE DRUG WAR There's excellent news from our Florida drug czar on how time and money are being spent in Tallahassee to help protect us from "drugs." Seems that poisoning large areas of the state with a special fungus will help us closer to being a "pot-free" state. Though, of course, we will still need a couple more steps after that to really be sure that no one gets high by smoking a plant. And that would be to permit law enforcement to enter without cause any and all buildings and domiciles for the purpose of inspecting and confirming that no indoor growing is taking place. And of course we'll need a giant wall, fence, force field or whatever to keep out all the pot that will now be coming in from other places due to the lack of supply in-state. Oh yeah, and plenty of soldiers with big guns and riot gear to man that fence. In truth, we must not be too hard on czar Jim McDonough. His is a thankless and frankly impossible commission. And that is to eliminate the personal freedom of over 2-million Florida adults who use marijuana of their own free will and with no harm to others. He said it himself when he stated that use of marijuana in Florida is at an all-time high. Wake up, Mr. McDonough! Two-million free citizens in your own state are asking you to please end the war on our own citizenry now! Stephen Heath, Largo - --- MAP posted-by: From: galovenguth <galovenguth@email.msn.com> To: cunninr@gvillesun.com <cunninr@gvillesun.com> Cc: galovenguth <galovenguth@email.msn.com> Subject: killer fungus coming to Gainesville? Date: Tuesday, July 27, 1999 2:33 PM Today's New York Times story regarding the plant eating fungus to be tested in North Florida, and the growth of cement plants appear to me to be a larger plan than most people might realize. Is it possible that south Florida politicians are involved in their own covert action? I believe this group wants to destroy the soils of North Central Florida, widen the roads heading westward to the gulf, where the ongoings of future oil related industry will develop? They have already done away with the fishing industry. Will the destruction of the agricultural industry be next? I can only hope that the voting public will elect a Senator who appreciates saving of North Central Florida soils, pastures, aquafiers and our fresh air. I saw what Agent Orange does from my experience in the Republic of S. Vietnam. The government officials of that time thought it was safe and we all know the reality of that. Again, we need to vote for a highly environmentally responsible Senator, not one who is sponsoring the implemention of the fungus; Fusarium Oxysporum. G. A. Lovenguth 791 se 140 ave. Williston, Fl 32696 352-528-3235 Derek Rea ilhart ez j lovitto AP posted-by: Jo-D ed-by: Derek Rea z j lovitto --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart ts. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D - Checked-by: Melodi Cornett nemez j lovitto posted-by: Jo-D ed-by: Jo-D |
