FIGHT THE SCOURGE OF METH

Tennessee should capitalize on every tool it can find in alerting people to
the dangers of methamphetamine. Efforts in the Upper Cumberland region may
help.

As law enforcement officials and experts across the state address the
growth of meth addiction, a constant refrain among them is that the public
doesn't fully recognize how addictive, how destructive and how difficult to
combat the meth scourge is.

Methamphetamine can be made at home, using household chemicals. The main
ingredient is pseudoephedrine, which is found in many run-of-the-mill cold
remedies. That's why meth is often called a poor man's cocaine. But the
behavior of people on meth can be horrendous. Law enforcement officials
have become keenly aware of the threat. Unfortunately, the same is not yet
true of the general public.

But help is surfacing. With the Upper Cumberland becoming inundated with
meth problems, a task force of the 13th Judicial District - comprised of
Clay, Cumberland, DeKalb, Overton, Picket, Putnam and White counties - has
produced a 35-page methamphetamine prevention handbook, which is being
distributed to the public through various agencies. Meanwhile, a CD-ROM
produced at Tennessee Tech in conjunction with the Putnam County Health
Department has been produced. Those sorts of educational tools serve an
excellent purpose and should be emulated throughout the state.

While the Upper Cumberland region has had pronounced problems with meth,
Tennesseans should be aware that law enforcement officials across the state
are onto the issue. The problem those law officers have is in getting
everyone else tuned in. Drug networks conjure up images of shadowy figures
making flights to South America. A meth lab might be in a neighbor's
kitchen just up the street.

The Governor's Task Force on Methamphetamine Abuse, which met in Cookeville
last week, is expected to make recommendations on a comprehensive meth
policy to Gov. Phil Bredesen by Sept. 1. One of its fundamental goals
should be to grab the attention of all Tennesseans and warn them about the
problem - before meth beats everybody to it.