In so many ways the FDA and the DEA needs to be more connected as regulatory and research agencies rather than tactical police tools because of the abuse of Big Pharma, the growth of marijuana legalization and the proliferation of unregulated adulterated drug markets online and on the street. One less paramilitary organization complicating the reasons for Homeland Security(sic) might provide fewer abuses of power as well as fiscal responsibility, much like the other "Wars on Abstraction" like the War on Terror, and even appeal to the so-called "minimal government" Republicans.
Michele Leonhart, the administrator of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), is expected to resign soon, a senior administration official tells CBS News Senior White House Correspondent Bill Plante.
Leonhart, who was confirmed to her position in December 2010 but has served in an acting capacity since November 2007, has presided over an agency that has been plagued by scandal in recent years. Just last month, a damning report from the Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General revealed that several DEA agents had engaged in "sex parties" with prostitutes paid for by Colombian drug cartels...
New evidence about the extent of the misconduct shows "a truly breathtaking recklessness by DEA agents who are sworn to protect our country," Rep. Elijah Cummings, the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, said at a hearing.