The Biological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Act of 1989 (BWATA) was drafted by University of Illinois international law professor Francis Boyle.

[10] The U.S. now maintains that the Article I of the BWC, which explicitly bans bio-weapons, does not apply to "non-lethal" biological agents.

[11] According to the Federation of American Scientists, current U.S. work on non-lethal agents greatly exceeds limitations set forth in the BWC.

[6][13] BWATA, which became known as Public Law 101-298 upon its passage and signing, provided criminal penalties for those who violated its provisions.

[14] The specific section of the law that dictated sentencing for violators stated:[14] Whoever knowingly develops, produces, stockpiles, transfers, acquires, retains, or possesses any biological agent, toxin, or delivery system for use as a weapon, or knowingly assists a foreign state or any organization to do so, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for life or any term of years, or both.The act also provided that if a quantity of biological agent, or toxin appeared to have no peaceful purpose, it could be seized and subsequently destroyed.

[6] For example, an individual named Larry Wayne Harris attempted to procure biological agents from the American Type Culture Center for "defensive" research, per the BWC, in 1995.

[6] In part, the 1996 law required all private and academic organizations to register any possible BW agents with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

Lavy, an electrician from Valdez, Alaska, declared that he was crossing with 20,000 rounds of ammunition, four guns, $89,000, and 130 grams of ricin.

Castor beans were recovered from the scene, and Lavy was charged under BWATA with possession of a biological toxin with intent to kill.

[17] An American anti-government group headquartered in Minneapolis known as the Minnesota Patriot's Council mail-ordered castor beans and managed to extract about 0.7 grams of 5% ricin, despite having no specific expertise in biological warfare.