METH LAB SEIZURES DECLINE IN TENNESSEE; FIGHT CONTINUES

Methamphetamine lab seizures have fallen statewide in the last four
years, and officials say many factors -- from tougher laws and better
education to meth makers who are more wary -- contributed to the decline.

Since 2004, when Tennessee had nearly 1,600 meth labs seized, seizures
decreased to 583 in 2007, according to the Tennessee Methamphetamine
Task Force.

The statistics do not mean the fight against meth will wane, said
Larry C. Black, commander of the Lookout Mountain Judicial Task Force
serving Walker, Catoosa, Chattooga and Dade counties.

"We feel like meth is still a plague on our society," Mr. Black said.
"We still have a lot of people that are cooking meth and getting
better educated."

Smarter meth makers in Tennessee and Georgia are finding new ways to
evade law enforcement officials, he said. Clandestine operations that
are more difficult to detect also cause a drop in seizures, Mr. Black
said.

"What's happened is they're getting harder to catch," he said.
"There's still a tremendous amount of meth being made."

Meth task force director Tommy Farmer said seizures in Tennessee
actually rose in January and February, and he expects production to
continue to rise slowly.

"We dismantled their operations," he said. "Now they have to
regroup."

Behind the Drop

Mr. Farmer said some of the four-year decrease in seizures stems from
fewer meth labs in operation, the result of more restrictive laws,
federal funding to fight meth, community awareness campaigns and more
effective recovery treatment programs for addicts.

He said searchers are finding a higher percentage of the labs in
operation than before by relying on hot lines, employer drug screens,
child protective services, the media, treatment centers and suspicious
neighbors.

"We learned that one way, one entity by itself, cannot do it," Mr.
Farmer said.

The Meth Free Tennessee Act of 2005, which required pharmacies to
store drugs used to make meth behind the counter or in a locked case
within view and 25 feet of the counter, also aided the decrease, he
said. Products affected included cold and sinus pills that contain
pseudoephedrine, a key ingredient in meth.

The legislation also restricted the sale to no more than 9 grams, or
about three boxes, of cold medicine per customer per month and
mandated that pharmacies ask for photo identification and log purchases.

Mr. Farmer said, though, that other factors played a role in the
decrease, including changes in sheriff department administration, drug
enforcement policies across the state and fatigue from tracking drugs.

Another contributing factor is drug trafficking from Mexico, which he
said has become more difficult after that country recently restricted
the sale of pseudoephedrine to pharmacies only.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has worked with international
agencies to stop drug trafficking between countries, DEA spokeswoman
Rogene Waite said. Though she would not specify what measures the
administration implemented to curb trafficking, she said their
effectiveness is seen in the ways traffickers avoid them.

"That's one of the reasons you see some of the fluctuations (in
statistics)," she said. "As soon as you have success in controlling
it, the traffickers alter patterns to get around them."

Hamilton County District Attorney Bill Cox said increased education of
young adults also has kept meth lab seizure numbers down.

The state's district attorneys began an anti-meth campaign in 2005 to
increase education with videos, brochures and posters. Mr. Cox said
that although the drug still is in demand, young people who are aware
of its effects tend to stay away from it.

In Area Counties

From 2006 to 2007, Hamilton County saw 31 fewer meth labs seized.
Marion and Grundy counties also experienced a decrease in meth lab
seizures by more than 70 percent each in that time frame.

"I think they consider meth a dirty drug and something not to be
fooled around with," Mr. Cox said.

The eastern Tennessee region, which includes 42 counties, represents
the largest portion of meth makers and lab seizures in the state,
constituting 83 percent of total seizures in 2006 and 78 percent in
2007, records show. Seizures during that time, however, decreased from
547 in 2006 to 457 in 2007.

Bradley County had an increase in the number of labs seized from 2006
to 2007, but that does not necessarily reflect the number of labs in
operation, said Capt. Steve Lawson, captain of the criminal
investigations division with the Bradley County Sheriff's Department.
This January, the county had one seizure, and he said his department
routinely monitors drugstore sales logs.

"It kind of goes in waves," Capt. Lawson said of lab seizures. "Some
things, you don't know the reason behind that or what to attribute it
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