NEW ATTENTION TO METH

State and local law enforcement authorities are keenly aware of the problem
of methamphetamine, so it was encouraging to see the issue raised on the
national scene last week.

The Kerry-Edwards campaign called for tighter restrictions in order to
crack down on the production of meth, which can be cooked using common
household ingredients. Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. John
Edwards called for more resources to combat the problem, including
providing locks for farmers to prevent thefts of substances that could be
used to make meth. Edwards proposed limits on the availability of
substances found in cold remedies, echoing an approach that many state and
local authorities have sought for years.

The Democrats are right to raise the issue, but they have some explaining
to do.

The Kerry-Edwards proposal would involve some $30 million in preventive
steps to fight the meth problem. While that is a modest sum by federal
standards, the campaign should explain where it would get such funding and
where in the budget it would offset that amount.

Edwards called meth "a cancer on rural areas and small towns" - which is
true, but state and local officials can attest that the meth issue is not
exclusive to rural areas. The problem reaches throughout the population.

The Bush administration responded to the Democratic proposal by saying Sen.
John Kerry voted against legislation that would toughen the penalties for
making drugs, including meth. But tougher penalties alone are not the
answer. A comprehensive approach is needed to raid meth labs, educate the
public about the dangers of the drug and rescue children from an
environment where methamphetamine contaminates a home.

The White House also says that the use of amphetamines, including
methamphetamine, has declined among young people in the nation by 17% in
the last year. But the administration probably won't get far with state and
local officials by claiming the meth problem is decreasing.

The proliferation of meth labs and meth addiction has largely been handled
as a problem for the states. In Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen has
established a task force to seek answers to the issue.

Yet states need federal assistance on meth. Some law enforcers fear that
meth, because it is so easy to make and is so addictive, will take the
nation's drug problem to a whole new level.

The federal government can't wait while that scourge takes hold. Both
tickets of the two major parties should work to keep this issue very much a
part of the national debate.