GM sugar can be turned into morphine and heroin without using poppies

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Well, let the good times roll...

GM sugar can be turned into morphine and heroin without using poppies

In what has been hailed as a medical breakthrough, scientists have turned sugar into morphine using genetically-modified yeast, without the use of poppies.

The GM yeast is similar to that used when making wine or beer. Potentially the discovery could have huge benefits for the development of cheaper medicines without having to farm poppies. It could also make poppy farming unnecessary.

The announcement was made by scientists at Canada's Concordia University, and was announced in a paper in the PLOS journal by researchers.

Lead researcher Dr Vincent Martin, a biologist at Concordia, wrote: "Efficient production of opiates using microbial platforms could reduce the cost of opiate production."

However, the discovery could mean poppy farmers rely even more on heroin manufacturers to survive. And that heroin could be produced anywhere sugar is available.

[Ban Hammer 12,835]

not bad, just saw this story a few hours ago and it is already on vj

[spookyturtle 9,465]

General Motors?

[Merrytooth 5,748]

Genetically Modified Sugar

[spookyturtle 9,465]

Genetically Modified Sugar

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Genetically Modified Sugar

No worries. GM advocates will tell you that all sugars are created equal. And that's true. Except some are more equal than others.

[Boiler 43,430]

There are going to be a lot of upset Mexicans.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

There are going to be a lot of upset Mexicans.

I can't wait for the day I have to show ID to buy sugar...

[spookyturtle 9,465]

When did Mexico become a heroin producing country?

[Boiler 43,430]

With the likes of CO killing the MJ business they have moved into other areas.

[spookyturtle 9,465]

I guess I still have Afghanistan, Pakistan, etc stuck in my head for growing poppies. I gave up heroin a long time ago.

[Boiler 43,430]

Judging by some of the comments on here we may be the odd ones out. Last time I looked none of those had a land border with the US.

[Merrytooth 5,748]

Burma (Myanmar) Golden Triangle

[GandD 5,966]

[lostinblue 1,989]

When did Mexico become a heroin producing country?

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/us-agents-make-record-new-york-heroin-bust/ar-BBjYoNB

US agents in New York seized a record-breaking $50 million worth of heroin smuggled from Mexico in the biggest such haul in state history, officials announced Tuesday.

The more than 70 kilos (154 pounds) of heroin was seized from a vehicle parked in an upmarket neighborhood of the Bronx, near Horace Mann, one of America's most prestigious private schools.

The drugs were found in 70 packages labeled "Rolex" in a hidden compartment under the floor of a Chevrolet Suburban, prosecutors said.

Federal agents impounded $2 million in cash from under the floorboards of a nearby apartment, and a firearm at a second property.

US officials said it was the largest seizure of heroin by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in the state of New York and the fourth largest in the United States.

Suspects Jose Mercedes and Yenci Cruz Francisco have been charged with trafficking and criminal possession, and denied bail.

Two other suspects, including Mercedes's son Jose, were arrested last November, prosecutors said.

US officials say Mercedes's trafficking ring served as a main source of heroin for users throughout New York City, and the states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.

The group received monthly shipments of heroin from suppliers in Culican, Mexico, an area controlled by the Sinaloa Cartel, they added.

"This load was so large it carried the potential of supplying a dose of heroin to every man, woman and child in New York City," said special narcotics prosecutor Bridget Brennan.

DEA special agent in charge, James Hunt, said the discovery proved that New York was "the bull's eye for drug traffickers."

The DEA has warned against a growing heroin epidemic.

US heroin-overdose deaths rose by 45 percent from 2006 to 2010, and the amount of heroin seized each year on the Mexican border increased nearly four times from 2008 to 2012.

New York had quashed its reputation as the heroin capital of the United States in the 1970s and 1980s.

Edited May 20, 2015 by lostinblue