TENNESSEE TACKLES CRYSTAL METH

The governor of Tennessee on Thursday unveiled a harsh proposal to more
strictly control access to over-the-counter cold medications used to make
the illicit drug crystal methamphetamine. While that state's Legislature
still must act on it, rural Mississippians should pay attention to the
issue, as it is clear we have a meth problem of our own.

First, a look at what has prompted Tennessee to attempt such drastic
measures. The state ranks among the nation's leaders in the amount of money
spent to clean up labs where meth, a highly addictive stimulant is cooked,
usually using fairly common household products. One of those products is
medicine that contains pseudoephedrine, a decongestant.

It is important to note that crystal meth is often cooked in a home, and
making it creates toxic vapors. Tennessee officials say that each year, the
state takes custody of more than 700 children who are in homes where
parents are caught making the drug.

Tennessee's solution - based on a program that sharply reduced the number
of meth labs seized in Oklahoma - is to restrict access to over-the-counter
tablets that contain pseudoephed-rine. Gov. Phil Bredesen proposes to put
such products behind pharmacy counters, restrict the amount that someone
can buy and require customer identification before a purchase.
Pseudoephedrine-based medicine in liquid or gel cap form would remain on
shelves, as they cannot be used to produce crystal meth.

Retailers without pharmacies would be barred from selling the medicines in
tablet form. Pharmacies who sell pseudoephedrine tablets would have to
maintain a record of all such transactions.

The only concerns so far are coming from retail associations, and rightly
so. They are resisting the idea of restricting the tablet medications to
pharmacies, and are concerned that forcing pharmacies to keep a record of
all sales will be too much of a burden. Drug companies also may chime in by
objecting to placing their products out of immediate reach of buyers,
although some are already ahead of the game by offering cold medicines
without pseudoephedrine.

Consumers - who are voters - also may object to having to wait in a
pharmacy line to buy their Sudafed.

The governor is a Democrat, and fellow Democrats in the Legislature appear
to be behind him on this. Republicans, apparently, have yet to weigh in, so
there is no telling how the proposals will fare.

But if rural Tennessee is swamped by crystal meth, it stands to reason that
it's only a matter of time before small communities in Mississippi and
Louisiana face the same problems - if they do not already. Mississippi in
particular is chock full of small towns and rural communities, which seems
to be the kind of places across the nation that crystal meth use has
flourished.

When that happens in Mississippi, the state may have to address it with the
same inconveniences Tennessee is proposing, especially restricting access
to certain cold medicine tablets.

With foresight, legislative leaders could spend the next few months getting
information from narcotics agents on the impact of crystal meth in
Mississippi and consider action before the problem gets worse. It wouldn't
hurt to talk to a few users, both current and reformed, to get an idea of
how horribly this drug affects lives.

Crystal meth is certainly available in this part of the state. A number of
labs have been seized. Without more law enforcement and treatment for
addicts, we should assume the problem will get worse. Getting ahead of the
curve, and trying to solve a problem before it becomes too serious and
expensive, makes a lot of sense.

Mississippi should watch what happens in Tennessee and take appropriate
action against crystal meth