METH LABS A GROWING PROBLEM FOR TENNESSEE

In the year since Tennessee officials first held a statewide conference on
illegal methamphetamine labs, the threat of this health hazard has grown
with menacing speed, particularly in our region.

Last year, for example, Hawkins law enforcement officials found 17 illegal
meth labs in the county. Earlier this month, two unrelated meth labs
discovered by Hawkins investigators brought the total number of labs found
there so far this year to 26.

While meth labs seem to have begun in California and later migrated to the
Midwest, it is to Tennessee, and in particular the scenic and secluded
hollows of our region, where the addictive stimulant's concentration seems
especially acute. Tennessee now leads the nation in meth lab busts.

For a state that occupies mostly bottom-dwelling positions on a host of
academic and health measures, Tennessee can now finally claim a number one
ranking - we're first in the nation in the number of meth-lab busts,
according to a recent report from the Drug Enforcement Agency.

The DEA's records show that there were 1,253 meth labs discovered and
cleaned up by authorities last year. That makes the third year in a row
Tennessee has garnered this dubious distinction.

But the cost in human misery is the real measure of this drug scourge. In
the past year and a half, the Tennessee Department of Children's Services
recently reported it has taken custody of approximately 700 children from
their mostly rural, meth-making parents - or more than one child every day.

As the pace of illegal lab discovery and confiscation increases, it's
becoming exceedingly clear that our region has become a kind of mecca for
meth production activity.

Narcotics experts say meth cooks and traffickers often operate in small
towns and rural areas. They find them perfect havens to make and distribute
their dangerous drug.

Meth continues to ruin countless lives, filling jails and prisons - and
morgues - flooding courts and frustrating overworked law enforcement agencies.

Officials say citizen information is critical to shutting these labs down.
Unfortunately, most may be unaware they're living in proximity to this
dangerous, criminal activity. Here are some tell-tale signs:

. Strong odors similar to that of fingernail polish remover or urine.

. Residences with windows blacked out.

. Renters who pay their landlords in cash. (Most drug dealers trade
exclusively in cash.)

. Lots of traffic, with people coming and going at unusual times. There may
be little traffic during the day, but at night, the activity increases
dramatically.

. Purchases of large amounts of products, especially cold medicines.

. Excessive trash, including large amounts of items such as antifreeze
containers, drain cleaner, lantern fuel cans, red chemically stained coffee
filters, batteries and drain cleaner.

If you observe any of these signs, immediately contact your nearest law
enforcement agency.

Hawkins sheriff's officials say it was, in fact, a tip from a Rogersville
grocery store that recently helped them nab three Kentucky men who were
apparently purchasing large amounts of ephedrine, a key ingredient used in
the manufacture of meth. Store clerks became suspicious and alerted police.

As the burgeoning number of lab busts demonstrates, the fight against
methamphetamine is an increasingly tough one requiring the effort of every
level of law enforcement from the local to the federal. That effort will
take time, and results will be hard to measure for some time to come.

Meantime, the public can play an important role in alerting law enforcement
if they suspect a clandestine lab is being operated in their vicinity.