DRUG WARRIORS PUSH EYE-EATING FUNGUS

Why are members of Congress advocating the use of a dangerous
crop-killer in Columbia?

On April 16, the New York Times ran a full-page ad from contact lens
producer Bausch and Lomb, announcing the recall of its "ReNu with
MoistureLoc" rewetting solution, and warning the 30 million American
wearers of soft contact lenses about Fusarium keratitis. This
infection, first detected in Asia, has rapidly spread across the
United States. It is caused by a mold-like fungus that can penetrate
the cornea of soft contact lens wearers, causing redness and pain
that can lead to blindness--requiring a corneal replacement.

That same week, the House of Representatives passed a provision to a
bill requiring that the very same fungus be sprayed in "a major
drug-producing country," such as Colombia. The bill's sponsor was
Rep. Mark Souder (R-Ind.) and its most vocal supporter was his
colleague Dan Burton (R-Ind.), who has been promoting the fungus for
almost a decade as key to winning the drug war.

The Colombian government has come out against it. And those entities
of the U.S. government that have studied the use of Fusarium for more
than 30 years don't recommend it either: The Office of National Drug
Control Policy, also known as the Drug Czar's office, CIA, DEA, the
State Department and the USDA have all concluded that the fungus is
unsafe for humans and the environment.

"Fusarium species are capable of evolving rapidly. Mutagenicity is
by far the most disturbing factor in attempting to use a Fusarium
species as a bioherbicide," wrote David Struhs, then secretary of
Florida's Department of Environmental Protection, in a 1999 letter
rejecting the use of the fungus against Florida's outdoor marijuana
crop. "It is difficult, if not impossible, to control the spread of
Fusarium species."

Mutation of the fungus allows it to attack other "hosts." The
eye-eating Fusarium seems to be a result of such a mutation. After
all, the soft-contact lenses that it grows behind are a recent
development--having only been commercially available since 1971.

The DEA stopped funding Fusarium research in the United States during
the early '90s after it learned that Fusarium infections can be
deadly in "immunocompromised" people--not only AIDS patients and
those with other illnesses, but also those who are severely
malnourished. The University of the Andes in Bogota has recently
reported that 12 percent of Colombian children suffer from chronic
malnutrition. Spraying this fungus on a vulnerable population could
be perceived as using a biological weapon.

The CIA has been against the use of Fusarium to kill drug crops since
at least 2000. At that time, one official told the Times, "I don't
support using a product on a bunch of Colombian peasants that you
wouldn't use against a bunch of rednecks growing marijuana in Kentucky."

A top scientist from the USDA, which has studied the fungus the
longest, said that his agency "cannot support" its use. And the State
Department, whose Bureau of International Narcotics and Law
Enforcement carries out drug crop eradication all over the world,
does not support it, either.

In 2000, when Congress first passed "Plan Colombia," the Colombian
aid package that ordered the use of the fungus in Colombia, President
Clinton waived the part of the bill that dealt with the fungus
because he thought its use would be perceived as biological warfare.
At the same time, the Andean Community of Nations, an organization
comprising Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela, banned it
within their territories.

So, who does support the spraying of the eye-eating fungus over other
countries? Only a few adamant drug war jihadists in the House, led by
Burton, who are frustrated by the lack of progress in the drug war.

The fungus provision has already passed the House, but the Senate
version of the bill contains no similar language. Responsibility for
a final decision rests on the conference committee where the House
and Senate bills will be reconciled--scheduled to happen before this summer.