FUNGUS THAT KILLS DRUG PLANTS IS IN TEST PHASE

WASHINGTON -- 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
"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 such as 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, it
provides for promotion of crops as alternatives to narcotics plants for
South American farmers.

"These microorganisms 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.

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.

All 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, precluding cooperation, officials say.

They also are bracing for allegations that Washington plans biological
warfare against these countries.

Checked-by: Rolf Ernst