METH BUSTS DOWN SINCE LIMITS ON COLD PILLS

Number Of Labs Seized Tumbles 49% In May, June Since Law Enacted

The number of methamphetamine labs seized by authorities in Tennessee
during May and June decreased significantly -- 49% statewide -- compared
with the number of busts from the same months in 2004.

The decline is attributed to Tennessee's stringent anti-meth legislation,
which became effective May 1, according to the Governor's Task Force on
Methamphetamine Abuse.

"I think the thing that is responsible is the lack of being able to buy
pseudoephedrine products by the pickup truck load. We just hope that the
number stays going in the right direction. We think that it will,'' said
Commissioner of Agriculture Ken Givens, who also is chairman of the task force.

Tennessee's Meth-Free Tennessee Act of 2005 was signed into law earlier
this year by Gov. Phil Bredesen. A major component of the law required
pharmacies to move products containing pseudoephedrine behind the counter.
In addition, stores that do not have a pharmacy are prohibited from selling
products containing the chemical.

Pseudoephedrine is a necessary raw ingredient in the manufacturing of
methamphetamine, a highly addictive stimulant that has become the drug of
choice in many rural communities across the state. Pseudoephedrine is an
ingredient in many cold remedies.

Joey Mundy of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's Nashville office
reported the decrease to the task force.

"This is a significant decrease. We've had pocket decreases in certain
areas, but there's been nothing of this magnitude. It's half of what it was
a year ago,'' Mundy said.

July appears to be on the decrease, too.

"We haven't had a lab reported since the 19th of July. At times we have had
three or four a night. It's good news,'' Mundy said.

Tennessee's results are similar to decreases that Oklahoma saw when it
enacted its anti-meth legislation in 2004. Oklahoma's law, considered to be
the most stringent in the nation, was used as a model for the Tennessee
law. Since then, Oklahoma has been able to maintain a decrease in the
number of labs seized compared with before the law's passage.

TBI Director Mark Gwyn is hopeful that Tennessee's experience will be the
same, but he said the state's meth problem is far from over. There is
evidence, he said, that some meth cooks in East Tennessee are "slipping
over the border" into North Carolina to purchase pseudoephedrine and
returning to Tennessee to "cook" the dope.

Gwyn also expects imported meth, primarily from Mexican cartels, to filter
into the state at some point.

"We're preparing for that, but from a law enforcement perspective we can
deal with that through conventional law enforcement methods like we deal
with large quantities of cocaine. It's a lot easier to deal with that than
the many clandestine labs that are spread throughout the state,'' the TBI
chief said.