METH LAB SEIZURES DOWN 59% SINCE SAME TIME LAST YEAR

Numbers Attributed To Governor's Act To Get Tougher On Drug

NASHVILLE - The number of methamphetamine lab seizures across Tennessee
continues to decrease since Gov. Phil Bredesen's Meth-Free Tennessee Act
went into effect nearly four months ago, records show.

The numbers from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration were discussed
Tuesday by a task force the governor set up last year to study meth abuse.
The bill, which became law in March, is the result of recommendations made
by the task force.

According to the DEA, meth lab busts last month decreased by 59 percent
compared to the same time last year. That's an even greater decrease than
the previous month, which was 39 percent.

"Two consecutive months of lab declines is good news for communities across
Tennessee," Bredesen said in a news release. "We're cautiously optimistic
the trend will continue."

Meth, an addictive stimulant that affects the central nervous system, is
produced in clandestine labs across Tennessee using relatively inexpensive
over-the-counter ingredients, such as pseudophedrine, an important
ingredient in the meth-cooking process.

Cooking the drug creates toxic, sickening vapors. The state has taken
hundreds of children from parents who exposed them to meth labs, which also
have caused burn injuries and deaths. The state Department of Children's
Services reported that more than 700 children were involved in meth-related
investigations in the past six months.

To prevent the cooking process, the new law contains a provision that
requires pharmacies to put certain cold and sinus products that contain
pseudophedrine behind the counter.

State Agriculture Commissioner Ken Givens, who chairs the task force,
believes the inability of people to easily get that key ingredient is a big
reason for the declining busts.

"It's the lack of being able to just buy the pseudophedrine by the pickup
load," Givens said.

But if meth manufacturers can't get what they need in Tennessee, there's
concern they'll go to neighboring states and bring it back.

Mark Gwyn, director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and task force
member, said he recently testified before North Carolina's Legislature
about such a problem in hopes that they'll form legislation like Tennessee's.

"If they don't, we'll just have to combat that in different ways," Gwyn
said. "That includes surveillance and hot lines."

Other steps the task force is taking to battle meth include a major public
awareness campaign to educate people about the drug and a meth Web site,
www.methfreetn.org, similar to the sex offender registry which that will
list convicted meth offenders.

"We're not going to solve the meth problem overnight," Bredesen said. "But
if we stay focused on the fundamental issues, then we're going to have an
impact and make a difference."

Last year, law enforcement authorities seized 1,574 labs across Tennessee -
the second-highest lab seizure rate in the nation, behind Missouri,
according to the governor's office.