"A Review of the Findings of Potential Health Effects Associated With Agri- cultural Use of Paraquat" (article), by Jon E. Ford, Ph.D., Chevron Environ- Brinegar, Jerry L., M. Div., president, and Jack Etheridge, B.A., vice presi- dent, North Georgia Citizens Opposed to Paraquat Spraying, prepared state- Cooper, Josephine S., Assistant Administrator for External Affairs, Environ- Feldman, Jay, national coordinator, National Coalition Against the Misuse of Letter from, dated October 4, 1983, to Hon. William J. Hughes. 212 Tiptan, G.E., Forest Service, Department of Agriculture, letter from, dated 166 ERADICATION OF MARIJUANA WITH PARAQUAT WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 5, 1983 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE ON CRIME OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY, Washington, D.C. The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 9:30 a.m., in room 2237, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. William J. Hughes (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Present: Representatives Hughes, Schumer, Morrison, Smith, Sawyer, Shaw, and Sensenbrenner. Staff present: Hayden W. Gregory, counsel; Eric E. Sterling, assistant counsel; Charlene Vanlier, associate counsel; and Phyllis N. Henderson, clerical staff. Mr. HUGHES. The subcommittee will come to order. The Chair has received a request to cover this hearing, in whole or in part, by television broadcast, radio broadcast, still photography, or by other similar methods. In accordance with committee rule 5(a), permission will be granted unless there is objection. Is there objection? Hearing none, permission is granted. The Subcommittee on Crime is meeting today to examine eradication of domestic marijuana with the herbicide paraquat. The growing of marijuana in the United States in recent years has expanded tremendously. Although upward of 90 percent of marijuana is imported, it is estimated that nearly 7 percent of marijuana used in the United States is grown in the United States. Illicit production of marijuana is much more than a backyard phenomenon. Growing marijuana has become big business for thousands of growers who believe they have found relative security from prosecution by planting, tending, and harvesting their product on public lands. Our national program of multiple use of millions of acres of our national forests, national parks, and Bureau of Land Management lands has been perverted to a single use-single use for the purpose of producing an illicit crop valued at more than $8 billion annually. This is an intolerable situation. It is a problem which not only threatens the management of our public lands, but is a significant crime problem that affects the safety of forest recreationists, land management personnel, loggers, and cattlemen. Furthermore, it is a major part of the national problem that has a terrible effect on the health of our society. Marijuana can be grown almost anywhere, and illicit production of marijuana in the United States now occurs to some degree in (1) every State. On a recent factfinding trip to South America, Hal Sawyer, the ranking Republican, and I saw enormous cultivation of marijuana in Mexico, Colombia, and Jamaica. We saw firsthand that it is critical to assist all nations to eradicate illicit drug crops. But as our efforts to curb the import of marijuana have increased, greater incentives have been offered to American growers to fill the demand for this illegal drug. This is a problem of great concern to this subcommittee. In addition to an important need in the United States to curb the supply and demand for marijuana, the United States is a party to the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs and, therefore, is obligated to limit production, distribution, use, and possession of drugs. We have an obligation to abide by this treaty. Today, we want to evaluate one method of controlling the exanding domestic production of marijuana-the use of paraquat. The use of paraquat for eradication of marijuana has been surrounded by confusion, sensationalism, and conflicting and erroneous reports. It is critical, therefore, to bring the facts to light and determine if the controversy that has existed is really warranted. Our approach this morning is fourfold. First, we need to have a clear understanding of the present marijuana control situation. Second, we need to know what paraquat is, how it is used and what its effects are. Third, we want to consider the alternatives to the use of paraquat for marijuana eradication. Fourth, we want to determine if there are research questions which need to be answered to assure that our Federal programs designed to protect our society from the use of marijuana simultaneously protect the American people and the environment from possible adverse effects of pesticides like paraquat. Our witnesses this morning include representatives from the White House, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Chevron Chemical Co., the Center for Disease Control, and university researchers from Arkansas, California at Davis, and Michigan. Because there are so many witnesses, really, who want to testify, we are probably going to have to break the hearing into two parts. This morning, we are hearing from the ones I have indicated, and we expect to have a second hearing, at which time we will hear from a number of other groups who have requested to testify. The Chair at this time recognizes the ranking Republican from Michigan, Mr. Sawyer. Mr. SAWYER. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Perhaps the most impressive and depressing sight that we saw on the tour we took of the producing areas were the thousands of acres of marijuana growing on the mountainsides of Colombia, in addition, of course, to great fields in Jamaica. These mountainsides are not traversable by roads. There are just a few mule trails through them. There are literally entire mountainsides covered with cannabis. We flew over in a helicopter. In Colombia you would find a little group of soldiers or national police out there, maybe 10 or 15, chopping down stalks by hand. And we were led to make the comment that it was like trying to clean the Capitol Building with a toothbrush. That is about what the proposition was. It became perfectly obvious that the only way it could be done in any effective way was by aerial spraying. Yet, paraquat was a bad word in Colombia, as in other areas. So the chairman decided-and I totally agree with him-that we should have a hearing and find out, get a caliber of witnesses who could educate us and the public as to just what paraquat is, how dangerous it is, and what controls are required. We know it has been used very extensively in agriculture for weed control. We want to know what, if any, impact residual paraquat has on someone smoking marijuana, and what, if anything, are the hazards of it compared to the marijuana itself. Recently, the Foreign Affairs Committee adopted my colleague, Clay Shaw's, motion and have conditioned continuing aid to Colombia on the use of paraquat. But I guess it isn't really fair to ask our neighbors to do something that we are not prepared or have internal dissensions about ourselves. So I want to congratulate the chairman. I think this is a very necessary hearing, and the facts on paraquat with the caliber of witnesses we have here should be able to be made quite clear to us as well as to all the others. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Our first panel this morning consists of Dr. Carlton Turner, Mr. Frank Monastero, and Dr. William Foege. Dr. Turner is the Director of the Office of Drug Abuse Policy in the Office of Policy Development at the White House. He joined the White House staff in July 1981. On June 24, 1982, he was designated by Executive order to direct the drug abuse policy functions set forth in the Drug Abuse, Prevention, Treatment, and Rehabilitation Act. Since being awarded his doctorate in organic chemistry in 1970, Dr. Turner has been a researcher at the Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Mississippi. In 1980, he was named director of the institute. He has conducted extensive research on cannabis, cacoa leaves, and cocaine. Mr. Monastero is Assistant Administrator for the Operations of the Drug Enforcement Administration. He was named to this position in February 1982. He has had an outstanding career during his tenure with the DEA and with its predecessor agencies. Mr. Monastero is a native of New Jersey and graduated from Georgetown University. Dr. Foege is the Director of the Centers for Disease Control, a branch of the Public Health Service in Atlanta, Ga. Gentlemen, on behalf of the subcommittee, we welcome you. We have your prepared statements and, without objection, they will be made a part of the record, and we hope that you will proceed as you see fit. Let's start with you first, Dr. Turner. TESTIMONY OF CARLTON TURNER, PH. D., OFFICE OF DRUG ABUSE POLICY, THE WHITE HOUSE; FRANK MONASTERO, ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR, DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION; AND WILLIAM FOEGE, M.D., DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL, ACCOMPANIED BY PHILIP J. LANDRIGAN, M.D., NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH Mr. TURNER. Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, I am delighted to be with you today to discuss marijuana and the eradication with the herbicide paraquat. As you stated, you have my prepared text. I would like to briefly summarize. Marijuana is a dangerous drug which has damaging effects on the lungs, the reproductive system, and the immunity system; it impairs memory, learning performance, and motivation; and it may permanently damage brain tissue. Its effects are well documented and, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, 60,000 young people require some kind of treatment each year because of marijuana. In fact, the Surgeon General has issued a statement regarding marijuana. That statement did not receive much media attention. With your permission, Mr. Chairman, I would like to submit that statement for the record. Mr. HUGHES. Without objection, so ordered. [The statement of the Surgeon General follows:] PREPARED STATEMENT BY C. EVERETT KOOP, M.D., SURGEON GENERAL OF THE U.S. PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE As surgeon general, I urge other physicians and professionals to advise parents and patients about the harmful effects of using marijuana and to urge discontinuation of its use. The health consequences of marijuana use have been the subject of scientific and public debate for almost 20 years. Based on scientific evidence published to date, the Public Health Service has concluded that marijuana has a broad range of psychological and biological effects, many of which are dangerous and harmful to health. Marijuana use is a major public health problem in the United States. In the past 20 years, there has been a 30-fold increase in the drug's use among youth. More than a quarter of the American population has used the drug. The age at which people first use marijuana has been getting consistently lower and is now most often in the junior high school years. In 1978, nearly 11 percent of high school seniors used the drug daily; and although this figure declined to 7 percent in 1981, daily use of marijuana is still greater than that of alcohol among this age group. More high school seniors smoke marijuana than smoke cigarettes. The current use (during previous 30 days) of marijuana is 32 percent; 29 percent smoke tobacco. On March 24, Secretary Schweiker transmitted to the U.S. Congress a report reviewing the health consequences of marijuana use. Marijuana and Health: 1982, the ninth in a series, is primarily based on two recently-conducted comprehensive scientific reviews on the subject; one by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and the other by the Canadian Addiction Research Foundation for the World Health Organization. Both independent reviews corroborate the Public Health Service prior findings of health hazards associated with marijuana use: Acute intoxication with marijuana interferes with many aspects of mental functioning and has serious acute effects on perception and skilled performance, such as driving and other complex tasks involving judgment or fine motor skills. Among the known or suspected chronic effects of marijuana use are: Impaired lung function similar to that found in cigarette smokers. Indications are that more serious effects may ensue following extended use; Decreased sperm count and sperm motility; |