Genetic Engineering

There is a new kind of hard to kill marijuana plant growing in Mexico.

Thousands of soldiers sent to seize control of one of Mexico's top drug-producing regions have found widespread cultivation of a hybrid marijuana plant that is easy to grow and difficult to kill.

The plants can only be killed by having their roots pulled, a slow and tedious task, Army Gen. Manuel Garcia told The Associated Press, one of four media outlets allowed to accompany soldiers on the daylong raid Tuesday.

"Before we could cut the plant and destroy it, but this plant will come back to life unless it's taken out by the roots," Garcia said.

What they need to do is give it some kudzu genenes. Then it will just creep over the landscape.

The International Herald Tribune has more.

The hybrid first appeared in Mexico two years ago but has become the plant of choice for drug traffickers in western Michoacan state, a remote mountainous region that lends to itself to drug production.

The plants resist chemicals that only burn the top leaves without hurting the root, making aerial fumigation impossible, Garcia said.

On Tuesday, dozens of soldiers wielding assault rifles swarmed 38 marijuana plantations, ripping plants out of the ground. As they flew back to their base, they spotted 32 new fields.

"For each 100 that you spot from the air, there are 300 to 500 more than you discover once you get on the ground," Garcia said.

Last week, President Felipe Calderon sent 7,000 soldiers and federal officers to restore order in his home state and deal a serious blow to drug trafficking in the region. The state has seen months of bloodshed from warring drug cartels, which have carried out gruesome killings, including dumping five heads on a dance floor.

Calderon, who took office Dec. 1 after being elected on a law-and-order platform, has vowed to battle drug violence that has claimed more than 2,000 lives nationwide this year.

Fox, the outgoing Mexican President favored ending drug prohibition in Mexico until the Americans put the squeeze on him.

Fighting drugs is just a covert form of price support.

Drug violence, however, has spiked across the country in recent years. Authorities blame gangs fighting to take over the routes after the arrests of longtime druglords.

Meanwhile, Mexico has continued to struggle with corruption among its law enforcement ranks. Garcia said authorities were addressing that by not telling soldiers where they will sent on raids and banning the use of cell phones and radios.

So fighting the drug lords increases violence and corruption. Say didn't we have that problem with alcohol prohibition?

Some people never learn.