Fw: [Mycoplasmaforum] Burandanga A drug you all need be aware of coming up from S.America.

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Monday, January 12, 2004 7:41 PM

[Mycoplasmaforum] Burandanga A drug you all need be aware of coming up from S.America.

Article 4 - Burandanga Comments by Doug Barr are in square brackets .Exerpt from Wall Street Journal Article, July 3, 1995Dateline Bogota, ColombiaIf you thought cocaine was bad news, wait until you hear about Burandanga.Burundanga is a kind of voodoo powder obtained from a Colombian local plantof the nightshade family, a shrub called barrachera, or "drunken binge".Used for hundreds of years by Natie Americans in religious ceremonies, thepowder when ingested causes victims to lose their will and memory, sometimesfor days.When refined the powder yields scopolamine, a well-know drug with legitimateuses as a sedative and to combat motion sickness. [Mengele of Nazi fame alsohad and experimented with scopolamine as a truth serum]. But in Colombia,the drug's most avid fans are street criminals. Crooks mix the powder withsedatives and feed the Burundanga cocktail to unsuspecting victims whom theythen proceed to rob - or worse.Doctors here estimate that Colombian hustlers slip the odorless, colorlessand soluble Burundanga [pronounced boor-oon-DAN-ga]) in food or drink toabout 500 unwitting victims in the city each month. About half of the city'stotal emergency room admissions for poison are Burundanga victims."It is a very serious problem," says Fernando Botero, Colombia's defenseminister. Adds Camilo Uribe, the doctor who runs the city's formosttoxicology clinic and who is in charge of toxicology for all of Bogota'spublic hospitals. "It's epidemic".It seems that everyone in Bogota knows someone who has been victimized bythe drug, Burundanguiado, as the say in Spanish. In one common scenario, aperson will be offered a soda or drink laced with the substance. The nextthe person remembers is waking up miles away, extremely groggy and with nomemory of what happened. People soon discover that they have handed overjewelry, money, car keys, and sometimes have even made multiple bank with-drawals for the benefit of their assailants. Because Burundanga is oftengiven at seedy bars or houses of prostitution, many victims are reluctant tocome forward."The victim can't say no; he has no will and becomes very open tosuggestion. It's like chemical hypnotism," says Dr. Uribe. "From the momentit's given, the victim remembers absolutely nothing of what happened." Headds, "From a criminal point of view, it's got a lot of advantages".Architect David Neneses says he was Burundanguiado twice in one week lastDecember. Mr. Meneses' first encounter with Burundanga took place on aFriday night when he stopped at a pharmacy to buy antacid. Two well-dressedmen approached hes car. The last thing Mr. Menses remembers is one of themen unwrapping a piece of candy. "I woke up the next day at noon at myhouse." he says. He had no memory of how he got there, though the doorman inhis building told Mr. Menseses he saw him com in at 7 a.m. looking nervousand confused.On Monday, Mr. Meneses checked with his bank, where he was told that his ATMcard made 13 withdrawals for a total of about $700 on that lost Fridaynight. Concerned that he might have unwittingly been involved in criminalactivity, or that his car had been used, Mr. Meneses went to the localprosecutors office where he made a sworn statement saying he wasn't respon-sible for anything that had happened during the hours he was under theinfluence of the drug.Three days later, the luckless Mr. Meneses noticed that he had a flat tire.Two men on the street approached him and offered to change it. "I rememberthey gave me something to drink, which I can't imagine why I drank." hesays. Police found him asleep in his car six hours later. He had been robbedof his radio and about $125.These days, Mr. Meneses is careful to drive with the windows rolled up. Hedoesn't venture out much at night anymore. "Burundanga is a very dangerousweapon in the hands of the underworld" he says.Not all cases of Burundanga involve theft or robbery. Sometimes victims havebeen used as mules to carry cocaine, says Dr. Uribe's brother Manuel, aneurologist practicing at the clinic. In one incident, says Manuel Uribe, awell-known Colombian diplomat disappered shortly after leaving a function inBogota, only to reappear in Chile under arrest for cocaine smuggling.Medical tests showed he had been under the influence of Burundanga, and nocharges were filed.Camilo Uribe said that in a minority of cases Burundanga is used to lureyoung women who are then abused sexually. When they are found days later,they have no memory of what has happened to them. "You see that a lot withuniversity coeds." he says.Camilo Uribe is often called by companies and embassies to talk about theperils of Burundanga. One diplomatic mission that takes the problem veryseriously is the U.S. Embassy. Its orientation manual warns freshmandiplomats never to visit bars or nightclubs alone. "Druggings in groupsituations are far less common" the manual says, adding that food and drinksshould never be left unattended. At the Colombian unit of Dow Chemical Co.(now there's an organization that knows about drugs!) security officialsperiodically tell employees how to avoid getting Burundanguiado "There havebeen many cases." says Oswaldo Parra, the company's legal officer. "It's avery common practice in Colombia."Curiosly, just next door i Ecuador, where the plant is grown commerciallyfor medical purposes, its criminal use is unknown. Instead, the plant is thesubject of poetry and myth. If one sleeps under the plant i Ecuador, he willbe able to tell the future, legends say.Here, however, Pedro Gomez Silva, a forensic chemical expert, tells policecadets that for fear of Burundanga, Colombians shouldn't accept food, drinksor cigarettes from strangers, nor buy them from street vendors.What's more, to be on the safe side, Colombians shouldn't help when askedfor directions or the time of day. And forget sidewalk romances. Teh waythings go with Burundanga, flirting with a stranger could lead to a reallylost weekend.End article. Note by Doug Barr: This substance can be given by liquid, cigarette or inhalant. It istasteless and oderless and can given with a drug that makes the victimtemporarily bliind. The victim under this drug, with an experiencedoperator, will tell the truth to any question asked. The victim may have nomemory of the event, or may remember the event as a dream. Memories ofevents while on this drug may come into conciousness many years later. Thecia/fbi/nsa and most police departments know about these drugs. This drug isused by security forces to "make people forget" other events. Victims ofthis drug often report distorted vision, especially things being made wideand small, or the giver's head starting to stretch.