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Mexico reels
as peso rate
drops sharply
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GCraffiti
Jan Von Ernest gets into the swing of a popular student pastime-decorating
the Natural Science Building's greenhouse with graffiti. Von Ernest is on
campus with her daughter, who is here for new student orientation.
Nancy Reagan fights
drug habit gave them credibility
DALLAS (UPI) - First Lady Nancy among other youths.
Reagan carried her fight against drug "SO YOUR STRUGGLE and your
abuse to Texas yesterday, saying those pain may create a force for good,"
who have kicked the habit through nar- Reagan said.
cotics treatments programs have won The first lady returned to Washington
the respect of other youths. after her speech.
During his introduction of Reagan, The Palmer Drug Abuse Program
Gov. Bill Clements announced he will was founded 11 years ago and offers
propose at President Reagan's request, services in 18 cities in eight states. It
a nationwide extension of his Texas claims to have helped thousands of
crackdown on narcotics traffic at a teenagers kick drug or alcohol habits.
governor's meeting next week. CLEMENTS, who is running for re-
REAGAN spoke to a cheering crowd election, said President Reagan had
of 800 at the Palmer Drug Abuse. sent him a telegram asking him to in-
Program's national convention. troduce a national anti-drug abuse
In her brief address, Reagan ap- program at the National Association
peared touched by the enthusiasm ot Conference opening next week in
her youthful audience. About 150 youths Oklahoma.
sat in bleachers at her feet. The program would be patterned on
She said the struggle to break the drug trade sanctions contained in a
MEXICO CITY (UPI)- The Mexican
peso, set afloat by a government
staggering under immense economic
problems, fell by at least 28 percent
yesterday amid a widespread scramble
to buy dollars. Texas border towns with
many Mexican customers were worried
about the currency's drop.
It was the second major devaluation
of the peso this year, which is now wor-
th only about a third of its value in early
February.
MEXICANS lined up at major banks
to buy dollars, but most seemed
resigned to the devaluation.
"If the economists don't know how to
solve Mexico's problems, how am I
supposed to know?" asked Miguel
Angel Guerrero, a clerk, as he walked
out of a Banpais office in Mexico City
after trying but failing to buy dollars.
Bancomer and Banomex, the two
largest banking systems in the country,
sold dollars at the rate of 70 pesos to the
dollar.
ON THURSDAY, the banks were
selling dollars at the rate of 49 to the
dollar. The drop was a loss of 28 percent
of its value.
Both banks also sold pesos for dollars
at the rate of 68-1.
drug abuse
crime package passed in the 1980 Texas
Legislature, including stiff fines and
forfeiture of property by drug traf-
fickers, fewer restraints on the use of
wiretaps, and laws against retail stores
that sell drug paraphernalia.
Clements, boasting about the effec-
tiveness of his anti-drug program, said
at /the recent Southern Governors'
Association meeting that Tennessee
Gov. Lamar Alexander complained
that crackdowns in Texas and Florida
had forced more drug traffickers into
his state.
"Lamar, that's an interesting
story," Clements said he told the
governor. "But I really have to say I
don't care whether they go to In-
dianapolis or Timbuktu. I just want
them to get the hell out of Texas."
Texas border towns which do a sub-
stantial amount of business with
Mexicans were worried about the latest
devaluation.
THE unemployment rate in Brown-
sville jumped from 8 percent before the
February devaluation to 11.6 percent,
much of it traced to the decline in
business from Mexicans.
"We noticed after the last
devaluation in February a tremendous
increase in retail sales," said Sarah
Cahill of the Harlingen Chamber of
Commerce. "We expect the same type
of reaction but we don't think it will be
quite as severe."
One Western banker in Mexico City
said, in explaining the devaluation, "I
don't think interest rates in Mexico
were high enough to compensate for the
perceived risks and money fled the
country."
Devaluation "eventually should bring
about the right sort of results," the
Western banker said. The government
is "starting to bite the bullet."
The Mexican government signaled
the devaluation Thursday by ordering
currency exchange banks at the Mexico
City airport to halt transactions at 3
p.m.
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A
. eagan
.. , abuse is a problem
FDA approves
first hifoeal
contaet lenses
for publie use
NEW YORK (UPI) - The Food and Drug Ad-
ministration has approved the first bifocal contact
lens for general use and two other companies are
seeking a similar federal okay to market their own
varieties.
The first approved bifocal contact lens, called BI-
SOFT, comes from Ciba Vision CAre and is made in
Atlanta.
It has two specific correction zones. The central
zone corrects distance vision. Around that is a concen-
tric zone for correction of near vision.
"THE PATIENT is able to focus on an object either
near or far without special movement of the eyes or
head," said a Ciba Vision Care spokesperson. "In
comparison, bifocal spectacles and other methods of
correcting presbyopia necessitate this so-called gaze
adjustment.
"The brainquickly becomes accustomed to selec-
ting the desired image through the contact lens
without the need for special gaze adjustment."
The patient just looks straight out the center for
distance and he or she looks a little to the right or left
of slightly up or down for near vision.
THE BIFOCAL contact has the advantage other
contacts have. That is, unless you know for sure, you
can't tell a person has the lenses on.
Bifocals are needed as persons age. The condition
called presybyopia causes the eyes to lose its ability
to focus at near distances - to read, for example.
Estimates are that more than 65 million American
require bifocal correction. The BI-SOFT bifocal con-
tact is available in a full rnage of powers.
FDA spokesman Bill Rados said that two other
companies have submitted information to the FDA on
clinical trials with their brands of contact bifocals -
the last step when seeking approval for marketing
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