Pubdate: Tue, 22 June 1999 Source: Los Angeles Times (CA) Copyright: 1999 Los Angeles Times. Contact: (213) 237-4712 Website: http://www.latimes.com/ Forum: http://www.latimes.com/home/discuss/ Author: Richard A. Poedtke Related: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v99.n654.a08.html BARRY MCCAFFREY Alcohol will never be considered the insidious and addicting drug it is by the Washington crowd. Too many pockets are being filled by the beverage industry, including the Treasury, which is enhanced greatly from the taxes imposed on alcoholic products. I have always maintained that if our government controlled the legal sale of marijuana, charging $1 tax per joint, our budget problems would be over. Big business has a lot of clout in America. If Coke was still made with cocaine, it would be sold legally, probably with an added federal tax, and McCaffrey would be job hunting. Richard A. Poedtke Vista - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake