GOVERNOR SIGNS ANTI-METH LEGISLATION

Gov. Phil Bredesen on Wednesday signed legislation requiring that
pharmacies and retailers take measures to reduce the sale of cold medicines
used to manufacture methamphetamine.

Following the signing of the law, pharmacies now have 30 days to move cold
and sinus medicines containing pseudoephedrine or ephedrine behind the
counter, and local retailers that do not have pharmacies have 24 hours to
remove them from shelves and stop selling them. "This law needed to be
passed, and I plan to enforce it to the full extent," said Carter County
Sheriff John Henson Wednesday afternoon. "This way, they will have to ask
for it (cold medicine) and won't be able to buy it in large amounts.

It should send up a red flag." Pseudoephedrine is a decongestant which
is the vital ingredient in methamphetamine manufacturing. The only products
exempt from the new limits are those in the form of liquids or soft gelatin
or liquid-filled capsules, which currently are not deemed viable in the
meth manufacturing process.

Those who buy cold medicines to make meth typically do so from larger
retailers rather than small pharmacies, according to Jim Anderson,
pharmacist at Union Prescription Shop, 402 Bemberg Road. Anderson said his
business will comply with the law, though he and his staff haven't
experienced a problem.

"If someone wanted us to order, like, a dozen, we would not do it anyhow.
Making it requires multiples, but there is no reason why someone couldn't
buy two here and three somewhere else and get the amount. Usually, folks
who are trying to (make meth) don't come to places like ours," Anderson
said, adding that some manufacturers of cold and flu products are
reformulating them without pseudoephedrine or ephedrine. A clerk at the
Sunoco gas station located at 525 U.S. Highway 91 in Stoney Creek, however,
said the store moved all cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine behind
the counter two months ago because staff had noticed some of the medicine
was missing.

Dariel Wakefield, pharmacy manager at the new super Wal-Mart on West Elk
Avenue, said Wal-Mart will comply with procedures set down by the
governor. In addition to moving cold and sinus products behind the
pharmacy counter, the new law, according to a press release from the
Governor's Communications Office, makes several other changes
including: - Closing the so-called "personal-use loophole" in criminal
law, which allows meth cooks to secure lighter penalties by claiming they
manufactured the drug only for personal use.

- - Requiring health professionals to report meth lab-related burns and
injuries to local law enforcement, similar to the existing requirement to
report gun-shot and knife wounds.

- - Creating an online registry within the Department of Environment and
Conservation listing properties quarantined by law enforcement due to
meth-lab contamination. A separate registry will be created within the
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation listing the names and offenses of
convicted meth cooks.

Separate from the legislation, the governor's proposed budget for
2005-2006, according to the press release, includes nearly $7 million to
attack the meth problem in Tennessee. Among other items, the budget
includes: - $2.4 million for increased criminal penalties for
meth-related crimes, including the closure of the personal-use
loophole. - $1.7 million to launch a drug court pilot project endorsed
by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy to test the
effectiveness of a combination of treatment and light incarceration. -
$1.5 million to launch a statewide education and public awareness
campaign. - $600,000 to provide meth-lab response training to law
enforcement and other first responders.

Meth, a powerfully addictive stimulant that affects the central nervous
system, is produced in clandestine laboratories across Tennessee using
inexpensive over-the-counter ingredients in drugs like Sudafed. The U.S.
Drug Enforcement Administration estimates that Tennessee now accounts for
75 percent of meth lab seizures in the Southeast, according to the press
release from the governor's office. From October 2003 to August 2004, law
enforcement authorities seized nearly 1,200 labs in the state -- a 397
percent increase from 2000, the press release states.

The drug is particularly harmful to children.

The Tennessee Department of Children's Services reports more than 700
children were involved in meth-related investigations over the past six
months. Especially at risk are infants and toddlers living in homes where
toxic lab emissions and residue settle on floors and furniture. In
signing the bill into law, Bredesen acknowledged the war against meth will
be a "moving target" that will require a continued coordinated commitment
from the federal, state and local governments. "We're not going to solve
the meth problem overnight," he said. "But if we stay focused on the
fundamental issues, then we're going to have an impact and make a difference."