Pubdate: Sat, 26 Mar 2005
Source: Kingsport Times-News (TN)
Copyright: 2005 Kingsport Publishing Corporation
Contact: 
http://gotricities.net/domains/timesnews.net/lettertoEditor.dna?action=new
Website: http://www.timesnews.net/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1437
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

GOVERNOR, LEGISLATORS BEGIN COUNTERATTACK ON METH

Earlier this year, we praised the work of Gov. Phil Bredesen's task force 
on methamphetamine abuse, convened last summer, and called on the General 
Assembly to craft those recommendations into effective legislation to help 
quell the growing meth epidemic in Tennessee.

State lawmakers have risen to that challenge.

The Senate has unanimously passed a bill that would make it far more 
difficult to obtain the over-the-counter drugs that are used in meth's 
manufacture, and a companion bill is moving swiftly through the House.

In moving to place pseudo-ephedrine-based cold medications behind the 
counter, requiring customer identification, limiting the quantity of such 
medications that can be purchased at any one time, and increasing criminal 
sanctions for those engaged in meth lab activities, state lawmakers have 
shown they understand the stakes involved in this drug scourge.

In addition to this legislation, Gov. Bredesen has announced a new Web 
site: MethFree Tennessee at www.methfreetn.org dedicated solely to 
information about meth's dangers. It's just one part of a comprehensive 
public education campaign that will eventually involve everyone from law 
enforcement and court officials to schoolchildren.

The help is certainly needed.

There's little doubt that meth abuse and clandestine meth labs pose a grave 
threat, particularly to children. In its last report on the subject, the 
Department of Children's Services reported that in roughly a year's time, 
more than 750 children were placed in state custody as a result of meth 
laboratory seizures and incidents. Particularly at risk are infants and 
toddlers living in homes in which toxic lab emissions are present.

There are other illegal drugs out there, but meth's manufacture and 
addiction rates make it a unique drug danger to community health and the 
environment. And that danger increases daily. Last year, law enforcement 
authorities seized 1,594 labs in the state - a number exceeded only by 
Missouri.

As a result of this explosive, exponential growth, Tennessee now accounts 
for a staggering 75 percent of all the meth lab seizures in the entire 
southeastern United States.

The problems of meth production and addiction are complex. But thanks to 
the thoughtful work of the governor's task force and the quick action of 
the legislature, Tennessee is developing an effective strategy to deal with 
the problem.

Given the immense scope of the problem, fighting illegal meth labs and the 
poisonous product they make won't be easy. But in acting quickly and in a 
spirit of bipartisan cooperation, Gov. Bredesen and state lawmakers have 
helped tilt the odds, at long last, against the criminals. In doing so, 
Tennessee residents can look forward with confidence that we have the 
programs in place to begin a much-needed counterattack against this 
pernicious adversary.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom