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From: fair@dual.UUCP (Erik E. Fair)
Newsgroups: net.space,net.columbia,net.politics
Subject: How to Solve NASA's budget problems
Message-ID: <375@dual.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 27-Mar-84 02:51:59 EST
Article-I.D.: dual.375
Posted: Tue Mar 27 02:51:59 1984
Date-Received: Thu, 22-Mar-84 00:09:30 EST
Distribution: net
Organization: Dual Systems, Berkeley, CA
Lines: 60

Today a bust in Columbia yielded several tons of cocaine, which
`undoubtedly' was bound for the U.S. The estimated `street value'
of this cocaine is 1.2 billion dollars. It was also estimated that
the size of this haul is approximately 25% of the total amount of
cocaine consumed by the U.S. in one year.

	- source: KPIX 11pm News, San Francisco, Mar 20 1984

I assert:

	1) There are drug addicts/dependents in the U.S. using controlled
		substances illegally.

	2) The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) is unable to stop the
		suppliers of controlled substances from reaching the
		buyers (addicts/etc.).

	3) The U.S. spends at least 500 million dollars on the DEA and
		related drug control programs. (This is a guess, I bet it's
		close. Does anyone have the real numbers?)

	4) The U.S. Space program is woefully underfunded.

I propose:

	1) The DEA should cease to try an stop the illegal importation
		of controlled substances.

	2) The DEA be subsumed within NASA, and that its new purpose
		should be the importation and distribution of what are
		now `controlled substances.'

	3) The new DEA should be self-supporting (i.e. no appropriations
		from Congress)

	4) The revenues from this effort should be directed toward the
		exploration and expansion into space.

	5) The addicts should be allowed to freely purchase drugs,
		and use/abuse them, or not. To Quote J. Pournell,
		`Think of it as Evolution in Action.'

Notes:
	This is not the first time that the drug problem has been attacked
from the angle `legalize & tax', but why not get the gov't in there full
swing? Can't you see the FDA doing brand name cocaine testing for the
height of the high?

	Basically I'm tired of having my tax dollars spent on what I consider
to be a fruitless non-productive activity: the DEA. (Grumble)

	Erik E. Fair

	dual!fair@Berkeley.ARPA
	{ihnp4,ucbvax,cbosgd,decwrl,amd70,fortune,zehntel}!dual!fair
	Dual Systems Corporation, Berkeley, California

P.S.	I don't use `controlled substances' of any kind, unless you include
	that which might be found mixed in with a certain carmel coloured
	carbonated beverage... :-)