FEDS TOUT NASHVILLE STRATEGY AS BEST PLAN FOR METH WAR

Top Bush Officials Tour Drug Court Here, Announce $16.2M To Fight
Abused Substance

A months-old Tennessee statute that is credited with a dramatic
decrease in the number of methamphetamine labs across the state could
become the rule for the rest of the nation if White House officials
have their way.

After criticism accusing the White House of not doing enough to combat
the spread of methamphetamine use around the county, three Bush
Cabinet members came to Nashville yesterday to announce a series of
national initiatives to combat the problem.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, drug czar John Walters and
Secretary of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt announced the
plans after touring the Davidson County Drug Court - a program that
has been considered by the Bush administration as a model treatment
program in the nation.

"President Bush is committed to supporting federal legislation to deal
with this, so I'm here to deliver that message," Gonzales said.

The Bush administration hopes to do its part by pushing federal
legislation, similar to Tennessee's and other states', that would
limit the sales of pseudoephedrine, an ingredient in many cold
remedies, that is the chemical backbone of methamphetamine.

Other recommendations include increased training and coordination for
law enforcement and creation of a Web site called, MethResources.gov.

The highly addictive stimulant has become the drug of choice in many
rural areas. White House officials also want to increase spending to
treat those addicted to the drug.

The Cabinet members met in a closed-door meeting with Davidson County
Criminal Court Judge Seth Norman, who founded the drug court seven
years ago. Several other local criminal justice officials and two
recovering methamphetamine users were also in the meeting.

Norman told the group that methamphetamine addiction is treatable
despite critics who say getting hard-core users to quit is nearly
impossible.

"We started, and people said there was no way we could treat crack
cocaine," the judge told the group. "And now they're saying you cannot
treat people who are on meth. We do not believe that. We believe that
they can be helped with long-term treatment, and that is what we are
going to try to provide."

Norman took the Cabinet members on a tour of the Bordeaux facility,
which is the only residential drug treatment court in the nation.
Davidson County's Drug Court, which has been used to treat addicts
arrested in Nashville, is now accepting methamphetamine users from
across the state.

In recent months, the National Association of Counties has been
critical of the Bush administration's efforts to combat
methamphetamine, saying local governments have been overwhelmed by the
problem and that more federal help is needed.

An association survey of 500 sheriff's departments in 45 states said
that methamphetamine abuse has become the nation's largest drug problem.

Two weeks after the July 5 survey was released, Gonzales told a
Portland audience that, "in terms of damage to children and to our
society, meth is now the most dangerous drug in America, having
surpassed marijuana."

After the announcement, the National Association of Counties issued a
statement applauding the administration's efforts but saying the
measures still fall short of what is needed. The counties want the
White House to restore an $804 million grant program that had been
used to pay for local drug-fighting efforts.

"The event in Nashville . and the establishment of the
MethResources.gov Web site are good first steps, but more action is
needed to address this national problem," said association executive
director Larry Naake said.

Bryan Willis, 32, a recovering addict and former methamphetamine user
was among those who spoke with the Cabinet members. He said he
described what his life had been like before he spent 18 months at the
drug court.

"I told them I was the guy that would kick your door in," the
Nashville man said. "I was the guy who would rob your mother, rob your
sister, steal your wallet." Drug court, not prison, helped him kick
his addiction, he said.

Willis said he hoped that the politicians were serious when they said
they wanted to help.

"I hope they do something about this because this is a major problem."