BREDESEN NAMES TASK FORCE ON METHAMPHETAMINE ABUSE

Legislative Committee Didn't Agree on Approach

Gov. Phil Bredesen has named 20 Tennesseans from across the state to the
Governor's Task Force on Methamphetamine Abuse.

The complete list of members was announced yesterday, two weeks after
Bredesen announced that state Agriculture Commissioner Ken Givens will be
chairman of the panel.

Bredesen agreed to appoint the task force after a joint House/Senate
committee failed to reach a consensus about which of 31 meth-related bills
would be passed on for a vote by the General Assembly. Many of the bills
required expenditures of millions of dollars, something the committee was
not willing to do.

Methamphetamine, a highly addictive drug that can be manufactured in a
kitchen-turned-laboratory, is popular in counties on and adjacent to the
Cumberland Plateau and other locations in the state. According to the
federal Drug Enforcement Administration, the state now accounts for 75% of
meth-lab seizures in the southeastern United States.

The task force will meet for the first time next Tuesday in Nashville at
the Capitol. Givens has pledged to have subsequent meetings in other
communities across the state.

Meth task force

Members of the new Governor's Task Force on Methamphetamine Abuse, the
chairman of which is state Agriculture Commissioner Ken Givens:

Police officials: Haywood County Sheriff Melvin Bond; Morristown Police
Chief Roger Overholt; Bledsoe County Sheriff Bob Swafford; Kingston Police
Chief James Washam; David Griswold, interim director of the Tennessee
Bureau of Investigation.

Medical experts: Ed Hansberry, Nashville pharmacist; Leighta Laitinen,
Mountain States Health Alliance, Johnson City; Doug Wilson, Rockwood
pharmacist; Dr. Sullivan Smith, Cookeville; Russ Spray, CEO, Southern
Tennessee Medical Center, Winchester; David Brown, drug abuse counselor,
Chattanooga.

Legal experts: Circuit Judge Lillie Ann Sells, Cookeville; District
Attorney General Tommy Thompson, whose district includes Wilson, Trousdale,
Macon, Smith and Jackson counties; John Henderson, public defender, Franklin.

Elected leaders: State Sen. Charlotte Burks, D-Monterey; state Rep. Charlie
Curtiss, D-Sparta; Tullahoma Mayor Steve Cope; Putnam County Commissioner
Johnnie Wheeler.

Educator: Augusta Mayo, school principal, Memphis.