Pubdate: Fri, 17 May 2002
Source: Knoxville News-Sentinel (TN)
Copyright: 2002 The Knoxville News-Sentinel Co
Contact:  http://www.knoxnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/226
Author: J.J. Stambaugh, News-Sentinel
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

TASK FORCE TERRITORY EXPANDS AS NUMBER OF METH LABS RISES

The head of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration stopped by McGhee 
Tyson airport Thursday to announce the expansion of a task force aimed at 
slowing methamphetamine production in East Tennessee.

Asa Hutchinson said the thriving black market demand for methamphetamine, a 
potent stimulant derived from over-the-counter cold medications, has 
skyrocketed across the nation since the mid-1990s and Tennessee has been no 
exception.

"In Tennessee, we know" the number of labs seized by law enforcement is 
"dramatically up," Hutchinson said. "Meth poses a danger to children, a 
danger to neighbors and to the community."

The use and production of meth, which is generally manufactured in small, 
mobile labs by addicts for personal use or for resale, reached epidemic 
proportions in southeastern Tennessee over the past few years, officials said.

But the efforts of the Southeast Tennessee Methamphetamine Task Force have 
apparently driven producers farther north, officials said. In response to a 
sharp climb in the number of meth-related incidents between Knoxville and 
the Tri-Cities, the task force will now have jurisdiction in all 41 East 
Tennessee counties.

Law-enforcement officials are especially intent on curbing meth production 
in part because the process used to make it can produce explosions and may 
release highly toxic chemicals into the environment.

Last Friday, an explosion at a meth lab inside a mobile home near Bulls Gap 
led to the deaths of two men and critically injured a third. Nine 
law-enforcement officers and ambulance workers had to undergo 
decontamination procedures after they were called to the scene three days 
later by the sole survivor of the blast.

Meth users "are not aware of the extraordinary dangers and health 
consequences of the drug," Hutchinson said. He added that meth's popularity 
is growing in rural areas while other street drugs such as heroin and 
cocaine are seen most often in urban centers.

The federal government has given specialized meth training to 154 state and 
local law-enforcement officers and provided each officer with approximately 
$2,000 in equipment, officials said.

Harry S. Mattice, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee, 
sought to hammer home the Bush administration's argument that the illegal 
drug trade is linked to terrorism and is therefore a national security 
issue. He also said the drug war must be fought "neighborhood by 
neighborhood and block by block" and promised to "throw the full weight of 
the federal government" against drug dealers.

After the news conference, Mattice admitted that expanding the task force 
doesn't necessarily mean more resources will be immediately available to 
combat methamphetamine.

He said no additional funding or personnel are slated to be part of the 
newly expanded task force. Instead, he explained, the task force's 
resources will be spread out in different directions.

"It's a strategic decision," he said.
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