GOVERNOR TAKES AIM AT METH

Hoosiers should support Gov. Mitch Daniels' efforts to combat the
methamphetamine epidemic. Among his first steps in battling meth, he
promises the state will:

Standardize procedures for removing and protecting children exposed to meth
production.

Recruit university students and faculty to assist in reducing the Indiana
State Police crime laboratories' backlog of 8,500 cases.

Develop a real time reporting database between prosecutors and drug-testing
labs that would allow prosecutors to quickly advise the labs when cases are
no longer going to trial so that samples could be removed from testing.

The governor also backed a Department of Correction's pilot project housed
at Miami Correctional Facility that aims to rehabilitate meth addicts.

Students will not work on methamphetamine cases, which are as complicated
as they are messy. By assisting in less demanding lab work, they would free
lab technicians for meth assignments.

In Senate Bill 444, a methamphetamine and pharmacy security bill, the state
is rightly developing a policy for the critical issue of children found at
meth labs. The bill would require the Department of Child Services to
intervene when a child younger than 14 is discovered at a lab. The
poisonous atmospheres involved in meth production leave these children
susceptible to long-term health problems.

A troubling aspect of Senate Bill 444 is restricting the sale of ephedrine
and pseudoephedrine, two ingredients used to cook meth. The drug would be
kept behind the counter and an ID would be needed for purchase. This part
of the bill is more likely to inconvenience innocent cold and allergy
sufferers than deter meth production.

Still, Daniels plan is a good first assault in combating the epidemic. And
the use of the word "epidemic" isn't hyperbole. Last year, the Indiana
State Police closed 1,549 labs, ranking Indiana fourth in the nation.
However, for every lab police bust up, they estimate between eight and 10
labs go undiscovered.

The war is just beginning. While Daniels should continue listening to those
in the field and be ready to modify his strategy if needed, his plans are
on target.