STATE PUTS MONEY, TIME INTO FIGHTING METH

has required what seems an inordinate amount of time, considering
the seriousness of the problem, but the Legislature and Gov. Phil
Bredesen finally have taken decisive action to combat the
methamphetamine scourge in Tennessee.

The governor signed a law last week that takes aim at the problem. One
key part of the legislation will restrict the sale of products used to
fight the common cold that also can help produce methamphetamine.

Such products contain pseudoephedrine, and the new law will require
they be sold in limited amounts from behind a pharmacy counter, with a
record of each purchase. Pharmacies have 30 days to move the
restricted medicine behind their counters.

Some pharmacies already have placed the products behind the counter or
have them in locked containers, requiring that the customer ask a
manager for the product. Bredesen said he appreciated the cooperation
and support of retailers and pharmacies.

The cold medicine is cooked with easily attainable items such as lye,
matchbook striker plates and iodine to make meth. Meth-making creeped
into the state's hills and hollows over the last decade and recently
has been detected moving into urban areas.

Tennessee has earned the dubious distinction of being one of the worst
states for making illegal meth. Between August 2003 and October 2004,
federal agents in the state have broken up more than 1,200 meth labs.
Sadly, a number of children have been affected by their parents'
addictions, and 750 children last year were removed from the custody
of meth abusers.

Other parts of the law include closing the personal-use loophole that
provided lighter sentences for those who claim they made the illegal
stimulant only for themselves. It also requires doctors and nurses to
report meth lab injuries, such as chemical burns, to police.

Moreover, meth-contaminated properties that have been quarantined will
be cataloged by the state.

The legislation had its origins in the 2004 session of the General
Assembly where about 30 different bills were proposed to deal with
what had become a horrific problem. It was among the top priorities
last year and this year of the Tennessee Public Safety Coalition, a
group that includes the state's sheriffs, chiefs of police and
district attorneys general.

Last year's delay might have been caused by the multiplicity of bills
and the amount of money needed in the fight against meth. Members of
the Legislature sent the issue to the governor, who formed a task
force to study the matter and report to him. That was accomplished
last fall.

Bredesen's budget proposal calls for spending $7 million on the
problem. That will include $2.4 million to pay for more jail time for
meth-makers; $1.7 million for a drug court pilot project; $1.5 million
for a public awareness and education campaign, with brochures that
proclaim "Meth is Death"; and $600,000 to help train law enforcement
officers who deal with meth labs.

If the legislation works and the meth problem is brought under
control, the work of the task force will have been worthwhile.
Fortunately, there is some evidence that it can be successful.
Oklahoma, which last year enacted similar restrictions on the sale of
the cold medicines, reported an 80 percent drop in the number of lab
seizures.

The most important part of this operation is to save the children who
are the most vulnerable to this crime. That is all the more reason
that federal, state and local authorities should never let up.