LONG-TERM TREATMENT PROPOSED FOR METH ADDICTS

Teresa Grant of the 10th Judicial District Child Advocacy Center said
they recently saw their first addict 12-year-old and 8-year-old
children, who know how to cook methamphetamine.

Editor's Note: This is one in a series of articles on the methamphetamine
problems assailing the nation.

"This just opens up a whole new generation of cookers, users and
people whose lives are destroyed," Grant said Thursday during the
roundtable discussion on methamphetamine with Gov. Phil Bredesen.

"How does a young child concentrate at school the next day when the
parents are cooking meth at the foot of the bed?"

There are many dimensions to meth problems in Tennessee and the nation
as a whole. There will be many dimensions to the solution. For every
solution, everyone seems to have a different opinion of what, when,
where, why and how the solution should be implemented. TennCare and
methamphetamine are looming large for the next legislative session.

But, that was why the governor sat at the table with local experts -
to hear their opinions.

Bredesen formed the Governor's Task Force on Methamphetamine Abuse on
April 7. The final report, published Sept. 1, made seven recommendations to
gain the upper hand against the drug.

One recommendation is the long-term treatment of addicts. According to
the report, research shows brain function following severe meth abuse
does not return to normal for up to one year after the abuse ends.

"With that in mind, the state should consider investing in treatment
programs with a duration of at least 12 months," the report suggested.

The recidivism rate among meth addicts is as high as 90 percent, which
has the potential for filling up the 400-plus beds at the Bradley
County Justice Center.

It was suggested by U.S. Attorney Paul Laymon that two to three years
of confinement followed by a controlled environment is required for a
meth addict to recover.

However, Tom Farmer of the Southeast Tennessee Methamphetamine Task
Force said it could be three years between arrest and prosecution
because of the backup in the state court system. During that time, a
meth addict is likely to be arrested again and again.

Sheriff Dan Gilley said statistics show Bradley County is the hotbed
of activity. According to U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration
statistics, Tennessee accounts for 75 percent of lab seizures in the
Southeast. Bradley County leads the state with 111 seizures. Hamilton
County followed with 101 and McMinn County with 80. It costs $2,000 to
$4,000 to clean up each site where a lab is seized.

Cleveland Chief of Police Wes Snyder said it will require a
multidimensional approach. Local law enforcement aggressively enforces
the law.

"We've done a good job at that, and we've filled up the jails," he
said. "The statistics have confirmed that. I never thought I'd see the
day when we'd have to have an awareness campaign to keep people off of
drugs.

"We haven't got that point across. There is still enough curiosity
that people are experimenting and playing with it thinking they won't
get hooked."

Bradley County Mayor Gary Davis said methamphetamine is affecting
every aspect of the community and agreed it will take a combination of
all seven suggestions to stop methamphetamine.

Adding one more layer to the many layers of problems and solutions,
Davis said a clandestine meth lab is a dilemma firefighters face each
time they respond to a fire.

Firefighters need special training and equipment to deal with a fire
involving a clandestine meth lab. Davis said, although it is up to law
enforcement to seize clandestine labs, "When there's a fire, guess
who's on the scene first."