HALTING THE SPREAD OF METH WON'T BE EASY

Halting the methamphetamine epidemic in Tennessee will not be easy,
according to law enforcement officers and prosecutors.

But these front-line authorities on the drug war said the bustling cottage
industry of clandestine drug labs needs to be halted, or society should
brace itself for a rise in meth addiction and its complementary ills -
including violent crime, overcrowded jails, environmental pollution, broken
families, children in foster care and drug addiction that ruins lives.

"We've got to give our prosecutors the tools they need to put these guys
away for a time that will make them think about it," said Greg Whitaker, a
Putnam County deputy who has participated in dozens of meth lab raids in
the past three years.

Officials suggested changes or additions to the state's laws regarding
"meth," including the following:

. Elevating the crime of manufacturing methamphetamine to Class A felony
status, a status reserved for the most serious infractions, with man-datory
minimum sentences imposed.

. Making it illegal to possess certain quantities of "precursors," the raw
components needed by home lab operators to produce the drug. These include
over-the-counter cold remedies containing pseudoephedrine, the primary
ingredient in meth production, as well as such common household or
automobile chemicals as Red Devil lye, Heet, Coleman camping fuel, matches
(phosphorous tips are shaved off) and starting fluid.

. Elevating state penalties for store owners who knowingly sell lab
materials or chemicals to meth cooks.

. Mandatory reporting by stores of customers who purchase large quantities
of materials used in the manufacture of meth.

Up and down the Cumberland Plateau, where the state's meth problem is
worst, police chiefs, sheriffs, drug agents and prosecutors spoke with the
unison of a Greek chorus. The best starting point, they argued, is to make
the state's drug laws and sentencing standards more like the federal statutes.

"I can't understand why, as big as the meth problem is, our legislature
isn't trying to make stiffer laws and tougher punishments. A lot of times
it's the same (suspects). It seems like they beat you back home from the
jail," said Chief Glendon Hicks, head of the Gruetli-Laager Police
Department, in Grundy County. Hicks' three-man department has averaged two
meth cases a week for the past year.

"About the only way to get them some serious jail time is to have the feds
take the case," Hicks added.

In fact, federal drug laws are significantly stiffer than Tennessee's.

"There are two primary differences" between the state and federal justice
systems: "how a person is sentenced and how they serve that sentence," said
District Attorney General Bill Gibson of Cookeville.

"The federal system calls for mandatory minimum sentences of several years,
usually 10 and up. Because there is essentially no parole in the federal
system, they serve their time, day for day."

By contrast, Tennessee's drug laws and sentencing guidelines are
significantly less stringent.

The manufacture of methamphetamine, categorized as a Schedule II drug, is a
Class A, B or C felony, depending on how much of the drug is confiscated.

Prison terms differ according to what sentencing range the inmate is
assigned. For instance, an offender found guilty of a Class C felony and
assigned Range I status - the least restrictive - would serve three to six
years. At the other end of the sentencing spectrum, a Range III offender
would receive 40-60 years for a Class A felony.

But, under current policy, many Tennessee inmates are eligible for parole
after serving about one-third of their prison sentence.

"A federal case for manufacturing meth will get 10 years, but the same case
in state court might even result in mostly probation, with little jail time
served," Gibson said.

Considering how dangerously addictive meth has proven to be and how easily
it can be manufactured in kitchen labs, the district attorney and others
called for legislators to craft special meth legislation.

District Attorney General Mike Taylor, whose district includes the
southernmost section of the Plateau, said a majority of the cases he and
his assistants prosecute involve small-time operators. They produce enough
meth to get high themselves and to sell to others so they can purchase raw
materials for the next batch.

"What we wind up charging them with on the state level is either felonious
possession of drug paraphernalia or attempting to manufacture meth, both of
which are lower-class felonies and don't carry substantial time," Taylor said.

But, he acknowledged, increasing state prison sentences for meth crimes is
problematic. If the sentences are longer, the state's prison costs are
going to increase.

"The problem with making the laws stiffer is the cost analysis and what are
the chances of a bill that carries a substantial fiscal note passing? This
year it would be slim and none. That's the problem," Taylor said.

Any proposal to limit sales of meth precursors also would raise thorny issues.

"It's touchy when you limit how much Sudafed someone can buy, or how many
kitchen matches you can buy," Gibson said.

"The government doesn't need to start telling Wal-Mart it can't sell these
things, but there comes a time when a person could have combinations of
these things in certain quantities that spells out what their intent is."

Regulating the sale of pseudo-ephedrine products is going to be difficult,
acknowledged Vincent C. Morgano of the Drug Enforcement Administration's
Nashville office. He is the federal agency's assistant special agent in
charge in Tennessee.

"You can't wipe out access to pseudoephedrine completely because it has a
legitimate use as a medicine," Morgano said.

Under federal law, however, possession of components used to make meth can
result in a sentence of up to 10 years without parole.

"That's one reason why every sheriff and investigator wants every case to
go federal, but there's no way they can take them all," Taylor added.

Many law enforcement officers share the opinion of Steve Randall, director
of the 13th Judicial District Drug Task Force.

He views state court prosecutions as a prelude to stiffer federal indictments.

"The only deterrent we have found is long-term sentences. Otherwise, when
you turn them loose, they go right back to it again," Randall said.

An example is the case of a Putnam County man, Charles John Burnett Jr.
Three times in 1999, he was charged with manufacturing methamphetamine and
spent brief periods in jail. He was caught a fourth time in 2000. At that
point, federal authorities took over the case and Burnett eventually
received a 20-year sentence, which he continues to serve.

An issue many county and city officials are now confronting head-on are
store owners who knowingly sell meth components at black-market prices.

"That's one of the most frustrating parts to this. Store owners will tell
you they are willing to cooperate, but at the same time they are at the
back door helping someone to load up the stuff," said Dale Potter, district
attorney from McMinnville.

Few cases against store owners are pursued in state court, however, because
prosecutors and investigators said they are often difficult cases to try
and offer little punishment for a conviction.

But Morgano said the DEA is actively working to stop the trade in meth's
components.

Last month, a former convenience store owner in Coffee County was found
guilty of supplying methamphetamine "cooks" from several counties with
pseudoephedrine capsules. Harry Javaherpour faces up to 60 years in prison
when he is sentenced in November.

Meanwhile, clerks at certain stores have become significant players in
tipping authorities to suspect purchases of meth precursors.

In one of the earliest Putnam County cases three years ago, a Wal-Mart
receipt played an important role in the trial of Glenn Ray Alcorn, the
first meth "cook" in Putnam County to serve federal time.

As Randall said, "The receipt didn't lie."