COMPROMISE METH BILL PASSES SUBCOMMITTEE

After back-and-forth heated debates for the last two months on how to
curb the production of meth in Tennessee, a proposal is one step
closer to a state House vote.

A bill that would require all pharmacies in Tennessee to log the sales
of products containing pseudoephedrine into an electronic database
passed out of the House Human Resources Subcommittee Tuesday morning.

"I'm hopeful this is going to work," said Rep. David Hawk,
R-Greeneville, who sponsored the bill.

But some authorities criticize the bill -- House Bill 1051 -- arguing
that it's a watered-down version that won't stop the scourge of
methamphetamine produced in the state.

Law enforcement across the state, including the Tennessee Sheriff's
Association, backed another bill that would have made cold medicine
containing pseudoephedrine a prescription-only drug. That bill was
killed Tuesday in the subcommittee.

"I'm disappointed that a prescription aspect isn't included," said
McMinn County Sheriff Joe Guy. "[House Bill 1051] is certainly better
to some extent but it's still not going to address the meat of the
matter."

Originally, the bill didn't include the electronic database -- known as
the National Precursor Log Exchange -- but lawmakers tacked it into an
amendment on Tuesday.

The amendment also changes several drug charges. A suspect arrested
for making meth in the presence of a child under 8 years old will be
classified as a Class A felony and smurfing -- going from store to
store to buy pseudoephedrine products -- will be a Class A
misdemeanor.

The electronic database, which caused controversy among law
enforcement who said the Tennessee Meth Task Force already has had a
database in place since 2005, will be paid for by the cold medicine
manufacturers.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, which runs the Meth Task Force,
openly opposed the database, arguing that the new system would only
set them back.

"We can manage [pseudoephedrine sales] for free," Tennessee Meth Task
Force Director Tommy Farmer said in a previous meeting with
legislators.

TBI officials declined to comment on the bill Tuesday.

"We had the opportunity to bring the hammer down," Rep. Mike Turner,
D-Old Hickory, told lawmakers on Tuesday. "But I think we're trying to
make too many people happy."

Rep. Matthew Hill, R-Jonesborough, the subcommittee's chairman,
dismissed the accusations that the bill would not address the meth
problem.

"I'm very proud of this," he said. "We've not compromised at the sake
of our kids or the sake of our constituents."

Hawk, who also sponsored a prescription-only pseudoephedrine bill,
said he was "cautiously optimistic" that the current bill will help
curb meth production.

"I'm going to give the legislation a chance to work," he said. "But if
not, we need to hit this on the head next year."

Sidebar:

KEY POINTS * Requires all pharmacies to use the National Precursor Log
Exchange by Jan. 1, 2012

* Making meth in the presence of children becomes a Class A felony if
the child is under 8, or a Class B felony if the child is older than
8.

* A pharmacist will be required sell any products containing
pseudoephedrine.

* Smurfing -- going from store to store to buy pseudoephedrine products
- -- becomes a Class A misdemeanor.

* A statewide meth study will be conducted over the next year and will
be released no later than Jan. 1, 2013.

Source: House Bill 1051