Pubdate: Thu, 07 Apr 2005
Source: Tennessean, The (TN)
Copyright: 2005 The Tennessean
Contact:  http://www.tennessean.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/447
Authors: Larry Bivins, And Pamela Brogan
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

DRUG WAR PROGRAM CUTS TO HURT STATE'S METH FIGHT

State Says More Money, Not Less, Needed For Threat

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration is retreating in its battle against 
methamphetamine, a pullback that will trip up enforcement programs just as 
they are hitting their stride in hard-hit states such as Tennessee.

President Bush has proposed gutting funding for some programs and slashing 
spending for others, proposals that worry Tennessee officials who have seen 
firsthand the debilitating effects of methamphetamine in their communities.

"If it passes the way it is, it would put us completely out of business," 
said Billy Cook, director of the 14th Judicial District Drug Task Force, 
based in Manchester.

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, there were 1,259 meth 
incidents in Tennessee during 2004. The cases included the discovery of 
labs, lab dumpsites or lab paraphernalia. The discoveries placed Tennessee 
No. 3 behind Iowa with 1,300 and Missouri with 2,707.

"I hope they don't cut a thing because in a small county like ours, money 
is the first issue when it comes to fighting meth and federal money is 
where a lot of our resources have come from. They need to be adding to the 
funds, not taking away," said Sheriff Robert Meeks of Grundy County. The 
rural county on the Cumberland Plateau was among the first to experience 
the meth problem in Tennessee, about 10 years ago.

Overall, Bush plans to spend $12.4 billion on the drug war in fiscal 2006, 
a 2.2% increase over current funding. But most of the additional money is 
targeted toward intercepting drug shipments before they cross the border 
and international programs, such as crop eradication.

The president intends to eliminate a $634 million grant program for state 
and local police departments and cut anti-drug spending in High Intensity 
Drug Trafficking Areas from $226 million to $100 million. The 
administration says the latter program has grown beyond its intended scope. 
In fiscal year 2004, three Tennessee counties received nearly $1 million of 
these grants. The counties include two in East Tennessee, Marion and 
Sequatchie, and one in West Tennessee, Henderson.

Bush also would reduce spending on a Justice Department methamphetamine 
initiative from $52.6 million to $20 million, a 60% cut.

Tennessee received $7.7 million from the Justice Department, $1 million of 
which went to the Southeastern Methamphetamine Task Force. The task force 
includes 42 counties in East Tennessee and as far west of the Cumberland 
Plateau as Warren and Lincoln counties.

"If we didn't have the $1 million dollars, we couldn't have done much of 
our work," said Paul Laymon, an assistant U.S. attorney based in 
Chattanooga. He noted that the funds were used for training, specialized 
equipment and, most important, overtime for local law enforcement officers.

"These smaller counties don't have money to pay for overtime, so we have a 
fund that reimburses them when they encounter a meth lab," Laymon said.

State prosecutor Dan Alsobrooks of the Dickson County-based 23rd Judicial 
District said he hopes the federal administration will have a change of heart.

"The bottom line is that in my part of Tennessee the threat that is being 
created by methamphetamine is as real as international terrorism. I realize 
there's a need for balancing of priorities on the federal level, but I hope 
Congress will listen to what local prosecutors have to say," Alsobrooks said.

Bush's budget would:

. Eliminate grants to states under the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and 
Communities program, funded at $441 million this year.

. Eliminate grants to states under the National Alliance for Model State 
Drug Laws, an organization that has been instrumental in helping states 
draft legislative responses to the methamphetamine crisis.

. Eliminate Justice Assistance grants used to bolster multijurisdictional 
anti-drug task forces.

The Justice Assistance grants "constitute the backbone of resources for 
drug task forces in Iowa," said Dale Woolery, associate director of the 
Iowa Office of Drug Control Policy. He said the task forces confiscated 268 
pounds of methamphetamine last year.

Methamphetamine emerged 10 years ago as a West Coast problem. Since then, 
the meth trade has marched eastward, becoming entrenched in rural communities.

In Tennessee, the problem began in the mid-1990s in counties along the 
southern Cumberland Plateau. From there, it has spread in every direction. 
There were nearly 16,000 methamphetamine lab seizures nationwide last year, 
compared with 912 in 1995, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

The nation's 1.5 million meth addicts represent only about 8% of the 
nation's 19 million drug users. But meth is extremely addictive and creates 
other special problems.

The drug, referred to on the street as crystal, speed, chalk and ice, is 
manufactured by using highly toxic chemicals that can poison the 
environment. Cleaning up a meth lab can cost between $3,500 and $20,000.

In addition, meth often is made in homes where children are present. Those 
children are more likely to be victims of abuse, neglect and domestic 
violence. Some states have enacted laws for handling methamphetamine lab 
cleanup and children found at contaminated sites.

Others, including Tennessee, have passed legislation to limit the 
production of the drug by limiting access to pseudoephedrine, a chemical 
found in hundreds of over-the-counter drug remedies. The ingredient is 
necessary to the production of meth in home labs. Tennessee's law went into 
effect last week.

Gov. Phil Bredesen has also made meth programs a feature of his proposed 
budget, although it's in doubt because of the growing cost of the TennCare 
health-care program. Bredesen proposes $6.9 million to fight manufacture 
and abuse of the drug.

"The consequences of (meth) addiction are being felt all across this 
country in a complete drain of resources," said Sherry Green, director of 
the National Alliance for Model State Drug Laws.

State officials across the country say they're facing their own budget 
problems and can't afford to fight the meth war alone.

DeLynn Fudge, director of public programs for the Oklahoma District 
Attorneys Council, said the 23 drug task forces battling meth in that state 
rely heavily on Justice Assistance grants.

If Bush's proposed budget cuts are approved, she said, "I'm fearful of what 
might happen. Half our task forces might be eliminated. The thought of it 
is frightening for public safety."

Methamphetamine quick facts

Tennessean staff writer Leon Alligood contributed to this report.
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