Scientists: Gangs to have a shot at home-brew heroin

Real ethical issue hits the newspapers:

Experts have warned regulators to prepare for a flood of “home-brew” heroin, after researchers found a way of synthesising ­opiates from sugar.

The technique, reported this morning in the journal Nature Chemical Biology, could lead to cheaper painkillers and new antibiotics and cancer drugs, but co-author John Dueber said criminal gangs would soon be able to emulate the feat in suburban kitchens.

“We’re likely looking at a timeline of a couple of years, not a decade or more, when sugar-fed yeast could reliably produce a controlled substance (such as morphine),” said Dr Dueber, a bioengineer at the University of California, Berkeley. “We need to be out in front so that we can mitigate potential abuse.”...

@ Scientists: Gangs to have a shot at home-brew heroin | The Australian: