Colombia suspending use of anti-coca herbicide

[Judi Lynn]

Colombia suspending use of anti-coca herbicide
May 9, 2:09 PM EDT

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos said Saturday he is halting use of a herbicide that is a key part of U.S.-financed efforts to wipe out cocaine crops.

Santos said he was taking the move following a Health Ministry recommendation based on a World Health Organization decision to classify glyphosate as a carcinogen.

Speaking at an event in the capital, Bogota, Santos said that defense and health officials should agree on a transition period, during which "spraying of glyphosate has to be replaced with other mechanisms, for example, intensifying manual eradication" of coca plants. The U.S. ambassador to Colombia, Kevin Whitaker, said a decision on whether to use the chemical is a decision for Colombia and the U.S. government respects it.

More than 4 million acres of land in Colombia have been sprayed with the popular weed killer over the past two decades to kill coca plants, whose leaves produce cocaine. The spraying program is partly carried out by U.S. contractors.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/L/LT_COLOMBIA_DRUGS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-05-09-13-52-03

(Short article, no more at link.)

[Bacchus4.0]

1. good nt

[Judi Lynn]

2. Colombians Tired of US Planes Dumping Tons of Monsanto's Roundup on Them to Fight the Drug War

Article posted May 07 2015, 7:43 AM Category: Geopolitics Source: The Free Thought Project

Colombians Tired of US Planes Dumping Tons of Monsanto's Roundup on Them to Fight the Drug War
By Matt Agorist


America’s immoral and asinine policy of the War on Drugs has perpetuated the aerial spraying of Monsanto’s Roundup over rural areas of Colombia since 1994. For over two decades now, US planes have been dumping tons of pesticides over Colombian coca fields.

Originally the Colombian government wholeheartedly supported the ridiculous notion of mass killing all vegetation in attempt to cull the drug trade. However, it is no longer a secret that the health effects of long-term exposure to glyphosate are less than desirable. Just last month, the World Health Organization was forced to admit that glyphosate is “probably carcinogenic to humans.”

The recent acceptance by the mainstream that Monsanto’s Roundup causes a slew of negative health effects has sparked fear and infighting among the Colombian government.

According to the AFP,

Health Minister Alejandro Gaviria said last week that Colombia should “immediately suspend” spraying — a move vehemently opposed by Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon, who said it would “give criminals the upper hand.”

The row erupted just as US Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken paid a visit to Colombia, which the United States sees as one of its closest allies in the region.

The politicians who are fear-mongering about stopping the program are likely scared of losing the hundreds of millions in funds received annually from the US to combat the cultivation of this plant.

More:
http://www.informationliberation.com/?id=50762

[WDIM]

3. So they are killing the people.

To kill a plant that is a medicine and can be helpful to the People. Give the plants back to the people! Keep the Government out of my garden!