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How Heroin Addicts Helped Scientists Link Pesticides and Parkinson's
carmendrahl writes "Exposure to certain pesticides, including rotenone and paraquat, has been associated with a higher incidence of Parkinson's disease in population studies. But how did scientists come to think of a link between Parkinson's disease and pesticides in the first place? The answer involves the 1980s drug underworld, where criminals were synthesizing modified versions of illegal drugs such as heroin to stay one step ahead of the law. One molecule in some designer heroin cocktails, 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP), breaks down in the human body into 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP+), a nerve cell killer. Heroin addicts exposed to this molecule got Parkinson's-like symptoms. As for the connection to pesticides, MPP+ is a weed killer that was used in the 70s. It also closely resembles the structure of the pesticide paraquat. The saga, therefore, put scientists on high alert to the possibility that pesticides might play a role in developing Parkinson's."
Usually, dumping random chemicals into people is considered unethical. We can't do proper science on pesticides due to strong chemical lobbies, but thanks to our punish-the-sick attitude towards drug addiction, we have a large body of "volunteers" for human trials of unknown chemicals. This is a strong argument for prohibition: "if the illegal drug market goes away, we can't test financially-protected drugs, and non-criminals might get sick!"
The original researcher wrote a book on his discovery:
http://www.amazon.com/Case-Frozen-Addicts-William-Langston/dp/0679424652
MPP is a byproduct of sloppy meperidine synthesis, NOT heroin. Meperidine is "Demerol."
Once again the War on Freedom (drugs, terror, etc) spreads its casualties in the strangest ways. The largest danger a heroin addict poses is to himself.
The saga, therefore, put scientists on high alert to the possibility that pesticides might play a role in developing Parkinson's.
I'm sure we'll see, as usual, comments from the Big Ag shills telling us there's nothing wrong with pesticides, and that organic is a waste of money, etc etc etc.
The thing to remember is that all of these studies only study the effect of one or two pesticides at a time. What about cumulative effects of many dozens of different chemicals? The government can say something like "20 ppm of this chemical is safe" and "3ppb of that chemical is safe" but it is rather doubtful that exposure to "safe" levels of 20 different pesticides, cumulatively, is safe.
70 years into the so-called "Green Revolution" and it's still fraught with safety problems. All we've really managed to do is poison the environment, and cause a population explosion that is going to take some serious dealing with.
That I'm right, and you don't like it, doesn't mean I'm a troll.
Scientists? I think you mean Big Ag executives, who are far from the science lab. The scientists are not dumb; just a bit intentionally ignorant to keep their jobs and support their families --- "just following orders" without freedom to question the broader societal impacts of their work. The executives at the top coordinate their regiments of scientists with the marketing/PR/lobbying departments (often a much larger effort in cost and manpower than the science part) to spread the toxin of the day over every square inch of crops. Follow the money --- it's never the scientists who become billionaires off this shit.
Again: dumb, no. Irresponsibly participating in a sick system without questioning the structure of authority? Yes. Fucking coward pussies? Perhaps --- but no more so than every other upper-middle-class participant in the Capitalist system, turning a blind eye to the perpetuation of large-scale injustice in order to provide a comfortable life for themselves. They are certainly not brave as those who challenge and oppose the system are --- especially those standing up against oppression from positions of weakness and poverty. But, they are not dumb; that is an incorrect criticism of the system, leading to useless solutions. That is, we don't need "smarter" scientists to make the world a better place; we need radicalized critics of the existing structures of oppression to stand up throughout the system, and tear it down to make room for better alternatives to grow.
My stepfather was a banana farmer and exposed to some nasty chemicals. He has parkinsons and blames the pesticides. So reading this seems to support his belief. Just one data point and proves nothing, but personally interesting.
Aren't many pesticides designed to disrupt the nervous systems of insects? We are all animals, it stands to reason that it would harm humans too.