GRANT A WELCOME WEAPON IN WAR ON METH PROBLEM

Why is there a bigger methamphetamine problem in Tennessee than in many
other states?

The answer lies in the geographic nature of Tennessee. It is centrally
located for just about every means of transportation, including
transporting illegal drugs such as meth.

High-level Bush cabinet members were in Nashville last week to announce a
comprehensive federal approach to fighting meth abuse nationwide.

They announced that Tennessee is one of seven states that will get a total
of $16.2 million in grants. Tennessee will get $1.5 million.

According to the National Drug Intelligence Center, meth is the third
greatest drug threat to Tennessee, with marijuana and cocaine coming in
first and second.

But meth abuse is growing because it's easy to make, even though Tennessee
now has one of the toughest anti-meth laws in the country.

The interesting thing, though, is that the homemade meth labs many of us
associate with the drug are not the main means by which the drugs are
distributed.

The National Drug Intelligence Center, in its report on Tennessee drugs,
says "local independent Caucasian producers consume most of what they
themselves produce, although they distribute a small amount of
methamphetamine to established customers - usually family and friends."

The Center says the main purveyor of meth in Tennessee are Mexican drug
trafficking groups. These groups bring meth made in Mexico into Tennessee
to sell it to middlemen, such as gangs, who then turn around and sell it on
the street level.

We're not sure what the $1.5 million in federal money is going to be spent
on, but these gangs should be part of the target.