Pubdate: [Sat, 01 Mar 1997] Source: Burlington Free Press (VT) Author: Robert Melamede Ph.D. Sadly, the Federal Government always manages to show its true colors. The IRS has stated that money spent on medical marijuana is not tax deductable, yet they readily accept drug generated income tax money from any drug dealer who acknowledges his profession. Bottom line: policies that make money are good but those that cost money are bad. It seems that between the IRS accepting drug related income tax money, and the Treasury accepting debt repayment from countries that can only pay back debt because of their lucrative drug trade, that the US government is guilty of laundering drug money on the grandest of scales. The only sane solution to the perpetual drug problem is to regulate and tax drugs. The 16 billion dollar drug war fails to stop 95% of the drugs. Its like paying for a new car and all you go home with is the air in the tires. Bob Melamede, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Dept. of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics University of Vermont Burlington, VT http://www.uvm.edu/~rmelamed/