Recently, Florida drug czar Jim McDonough announced a plan to test and
use the fungus Oxysporum fusarium to eliminate outdoor cultivation of
marijuana in the state.

Against the urgings of the Florida Department of Environmental
Protection, McDonough will soon begin testing in a facility in
Gainesville.

This fungus is a dangerous overreaction to drug abuse in Florida.
Scientists at Montana State University have reported that fusarium
fungi are very aggressive, easily mutate to attack other vegetation
and, in some cases, release toxins that are harmful to humans and animals.

Farmers and the delicate Florida environment stand to bear the brunt,
not cultivators of marijuana.

Most cannabis that is available for sale on the streets today is grown
indoors, for that is the best way to obtain a potent product. It is
difficult to imagine that our leaders have failed to learn from
previous environmental disasters, such as paraquat, DDT and kudzu.

Biological warfare is not the way to end drug abuse. It is simply a
way to waste large amounts of taxpayer money to destroy the livelihood
of Florida agriculture and what is left of Florida's beautiful,
natural flora and fauna.

SCOTT RAYMOND BLEDSOE
Vice President
Florida Cannabis Action Network
Orange Park