GOOD START ON METH LABS

Tennessee can't get complacent with initial reports that its
anti-methamphetamine program is off to an excellent start. Statistics
released this week by the Governor's Task Force on Methamphetamine Abuse
show remarkable progress. Meth labs in Tennessee decreased by nearly 50%
during May and June over last year at the same time. July appears to show
more of the same reduction.

Credit goes to the stringent anti-meth laws promoted by Gov. Phil Bredesen
and passed by the Tennessee General Assembly which went into effect May 1.
Among other things, the law puts strict caps on the amount of cold medicine
that can be sold to an individual. Some cold medicines contain the main
ingredient used in meth production.

State law enforcement officials and state departments have greater
authority to identify convicted meth offenders and quarantine places where
the highly toxic meth production has taken place.

All that puts Tennessee in the vanguard of states fighting this insidious
drug threat. But as officials concede, the meth epidemic is far from over.
Meth users can go across state lines to North Carolina, for example, to
purchase materials. Foreign countries, like Mexico, could become a threat
as meth moves across borders, just as cocaine and heroin can. Even so,
Tennessee has positioned itself to handle larger issues, by tackling the
problem at its most basic level. The horror of meth labs is their mobility
and isolation. They can be set up anywhere out of the prying eyes of
police. The only way to shut them down is through public diligence and
reducing the supply of their most important ingredient. Aggressive law
enforcement helps, too, as the initial reports show. Tennessee officials
should be proud of what they've accomplished in a short time, but the state
can't let its guard down for a long time to come.