cocaine feeders

[Chris J. Durden]

At 01:23  9/04/00 -0700, you wrote:
>Neil Jones wrote:
>> In article <38E12AB4.9DB7E2EC at bangor.ac.uk>
>>            bsu103 at bangor.ac.uk "jamie o'connell" writes:
>> > Please could someone assist in my project be passing on information about
>> > butterflys which live and feed on the Erythroxylum coca or its close
>> > relatives.
>> > e-mail bsu103 at bangor.ac.uk
>> > Thanks very much
>> > Jamie O'Connell
>> The larvae of butterfly species in the genus Agrias feed on plants of this
>> genus.
>> I do have concerns that GM technlogy is apparently being developed to
>> kill the Coca plants. I hope for the sake of the butterflies that
>> the ecological effects of releasing such novel organisms are fully
>> assesed FIRST.
>
>Note also that cocaine is the pain killer of first choice for certain eye 
>and nose surgeries.  Coca leaves are the main ingredient after water and 
>sugar in cola beverages -- are Coca Cola and Pepsico aware of this bizarre 
>plan?
>
- - - - -
Both brands use an extract of the cola nut *Cola acuminata*, *C. anomala*,
*C. nitida* or *C. verticillata* as a source of caffein.
Coca Cola has had no essence of coca *Erythroxylon* spp. since it was
removed from the formula about 1927. 
...........Chris Durden