Nub,
Again not trying to start anything but I got to ask, What did it accomplish? They already knew it was there. Sure they know most of the state now has it and as you said at the cost of close to a billion dollars a year but that seems a waste of good money. What could they have done in research for a treatment with that amount of $$$$?
You know its there, you know its spreading, you know what it does then why spend megabucks to find out what their favorite color is. To me it seems that a group just filled their pockets[]
Rick