US$60M drug R&D effort results in product 4 times more potent

Unfortunately, the drug is cocaine. Look for it to get cheaper and swing back into favored status among partiers. Unfortunately, this means keeping a better eye on our kids to watch for indications of use. Sigh.

Experts estimate that the drugs traffickers spent £60 million to develop the new plant, using strains from Peru and crossbreeding them with potent Colombian varieties, as well as engaging in genetic engineering.

The resulting plant has also been bred to resist the gliphosate chemicals developed in the US that are sprayed on drugs crops across Colombia.

I wonder if we could cure cancer by having Merck hire away some of the chemists and other specialists from the Kingpins?