Moths, the answer to the cocaine problem?

Colombian scientists have proposed, what they believe, to be a new tool in fighting the drug problem in their country. Their plan would involve releasing thousands of Eloria Noyesi moths into the coca growing regions of Colombia which in turn would immediately lay their eggs on the drug producing plants. Within days the coca plants would be covered by the caterpillars of this species and systematically devoured. While this moth is essentially native to this area it is not present in the numbers the proposed plan would introduce. Many environmentalists have shown concern over this proposal as they fear that this might, in the end, become a problem as well. This area of the world has such a diverse, but fragile, eco system and many fear that introducing this type of “mischief” could end up doing more harm than good.
While I agree that the trafficking problem is out of control in this part of the world, I don’t believe that this is the route to take. This plan holds to many unseen dangers. Sure, it might help to eradicate the coca problem but what about the other insect species of the area? Will an out of control moth population adversely affect the other plants and animals of this fragile area?


abcnews.go.com...

[edit on 9-6-2005 by skychief]

And we would have a bunch of stoned caterpillars....

while the moths may "prefer" coca plants, overpopulation in this sense will most likely cause undesired effects for years. normally i would completely bash the (cough)ecologist viewpoint, but on this rare occasion i agree. while you may release immense amounts of ladybugs in your home in order to eat termites, the faulty wood is still going to cause your house to fall down around you. if you get my analogy.

Another solution to Columbia'a coc aine problem would be to legalize coc aine in the US. Then they would be producing a legitimate crop instead of battling a never ending terrorist-empowering drug war.

Meanwhile, people up north could empty the prisons of those who's only crime is -gasp- to intoxicate themselves. Gangs would mostly disappear, just like they did right after prohibition was repealed.

The war on drugs is the cause of almost all drug related problems.

I thought you had discovered a moth that when snorted gave a coc aine like high.

Originally posted by groingrinder
I thought you had discovered a moth that when snorted gave a coc aine like high.

Believe me, if these moths destroy the coca crops that just might be the next big thing in the illegal drug market.

With the introduction of these moths, to fight coc aine production, why do I keep hearing the words:

"Say Hulloh To My Littil Friend"

why is this in the fragile Earth catagory? seems like it should be moved somewhere else

[edit on 10/01/2004 by DigitalGrl]

Originally posted by DigitalGrl
why is this in the fragile Earth catagory? seems like it should be moved somewhere else

[edit on 10/01/2004 by DigitalGrl]

I chose this category because I believe that this proposed plan could cause serious problems in that eco system. It is very diverse there but also extremly fragile so something like this could cause severe damage to the native wildlife.

If we succesfully wipe out the Coca plant from the wild(or from being illigal) the criminal element will just find something else to make they cash off of. Bah this whole thing sounds foolish if you ask me...

Cocaine is so last week, all the fiends turn to METH!!!


Thats the real problem now, coke is super cheap now or so I here, never cared for the stuff to be honest.


They'll never be able to win the war on drugs, it's a war on personal freedoms, they tried prohibiton and that didn't work, a lot of people you wouldn't even suspect of being on drugs ARE infact on drugs, and I ain't talkin' about mary hoochie.

They're talking about the potentially adverse effects that 1000's of released moths may have on a fragile ecosystem... that many moths released could possibly effect other area where crops or grown as well as throw of the food chain... which could lead to a situation like this:

1)If moths are over abundant, and due to volume are easy prey for birds...
2)Moths are now the primary diet of the Mukka mukka bird that normally eats termites...
3)The termite population grows because it's not being kept in check by the Mukka mukka birds...
4)The termites now eat trees, and unpresidented rates... trees begin to dye from termite damage...
5)Due to lack of cannopy cover, the natural balance of humidity in rain forests is thrown off...
6)etc, etc, etc.

The situation above is entirely made up... including the Mukka mukka bird species... but do you now see how this effects the environment... the environment isn't just air masses, and pressure systems... tons of things effect it... including little things like moths.

I live in an area that has had major Gypsy Moth problems -- I don't think this is a great idea - what do the moths do when the plants they want them to eat are gone -- the caterpillers march on and devour everything else = trees dying, slippery roads as cars drive over them in the thousands (Yech), and the sound of them munching -- hard to believe you can hear it but when there are thousands you can UGH!!

Not a good idea in my opinion.

Are you asking we choose between a hard drug and a continued sustainable echo system? Get rid of the drugs - too many side affects that are greater than a single echo system, surely? I see your point, by the way, but, man, at what cost?

I live in an area where there are many drug related problems, both directly and indirectly, by the way. Try throwing a couple of moth balls at drug dealers and users - not quite the same result as throwing them at a couple of moths...

Originally posted by GlucoKit1
I live in an area where there are many drug related problems, both directly and indirectly, by the way.

How many places had alcohol related problems during prohibition in the US? Compare that to the degree of alcohol related problems now. Sure there are alcohol related problems, but nothing like the gang warfare that existed during alcohol prohibition.

The same is true for drug prohibition. Organized crime, and everything that comes along with it exists because of the huge profits and illegal nature of drugs. If they were legal, these problems would go away. We would still be left with the problems related to drug usage (like DUI, child neglect etc.), but we have those now anyway.

Very few alcoholics resort to crime to get alcohol money, because alcohol is relatively cheap, and can be obtained legally. If drugs were also cheap and legal, most drug related crime would disappear. There was very little drug related crime before drug laws began creeping into play.