A DISAPPOINTING RETREAT ON STATE'S METH PROBLEM

The failure of the state to address its growing methamphetamine problem
means a criminal issue, a health issue and an environmental issue will go
unchecked. The issue must stay on the front-burner.

An ad hoc House-Senate committee has concluded that funding is not available
to address meth as it would like. The panel has instead called upon Gov.
Phil Bredesen to form a task force to create a comprehensive package of
meth-related legislation and report back to the General Assembly before the
2005 session.

That delay seems like a lifetime when considering the magnitude of the
problem. Lawmakers who have taken on the meth issue, representing
communities hit hardest by the problem, are deeply disappointed at the
inaction, and they should be. While the state's funding resources may be at
a standstill, the meth problem is growing rapidly.

The governor's office has expressed an openness to meeting the committee's
requests, and there is every reason to believe a task force can be put in
place to find responsible solutions. But it is not as though the state would
be starting from scratch. There is already an excellent coalition of chiefs
of police, sheriff's departments and district attorneys' offices familiar
with breadth of the meth problem and organized to fight it. The Tennessee
Public Safety Coalition wants to strengthen existing laws dealing with the
making and distribution of the drug.

Some of the proposals are as simple as educating the public about the nature
of the substance: Meth is derived from easily obtainable products, such as
in over-the-counter cold remedies. If nothing else, volume purchases of what
would normally be small household products should wave a red flag about
intent. It was other proposals, including a call for tougher prison terms at
a cost of $7.5 million, that killed the effort.

Frequently the routing of an issue to a summer study group can be an
opportunity to take a deep breath, absorb the nature of the problem and
establish legislation in a methodical fashion. On this issue, however, time
is not on the side of the decision-makers. The call for a task force is a
forward step, but it is also a fallback position that disappoints those
eager to address the issue. Meth labs create hideous problems. As the
discussion continues, the emphasis should be on what steps can be taken
sooner, rather than later.