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Why is the DEA and ATF separate? Seems like they cover similar things from similar circles.

Is it because alcohol, tobacco, and firearms also have legal pathways? So they spend time tracking down cheats and checking/enforcing regulations?

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  • It's because the main laws that regulated these things arise out of different statutes that were enacted at different times and under different circumstances.

    An agency's main job is to interpret and execute its enabling statute. They may seem similar but the subject matter is all very different.

    You'd have to read about the history of each of these two agencies.

    I don't know much myself but I suspect they were born out of working groups from predecessor agencies.

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