PANEL LAYS GROUNDWORK FOR FIGHTING METH

When it comes to special study committees, Gov. Bredesen's task force
on methamphetamine abuse has done a very rare thing. It has delivered
on a straightforward, common-sense strategy to quell the growing
methamphetamine epidemic in Tennessee.

A recent meth lab explosion in Kingsport that forced the temporary
evacuation of six families has brought that threat home in a dramatic
way.

There's little doubt that methamphetamine abuse and clandestine meth
labs pose a grave threat to children. The Department of Children's
Services reports that from January 2002 to July 2003, more than 700
children were placed in state custody as a result of methamphetamine
laboratory seizures and incidents. Particularly at risk are infants
and toddlers living in homes in which toxic lab emissions are present.

There are other illegal drugs, but meth's manufacture and addiction
rates make it a unique drug danger to community health and the
environment. And that danger increases daily. Last year, law
enforcement authorities seized more than 800 labs in the state - a 466
percent increase from 1999. As a result of this explosive, exponential
growth, Tennessee now accounts for a staggering 75 percent of all the
meth lab seizures in the entire southeastern U.S.

The problems of meth production and addiction are complex. But the
governor's task force has approached them in a thoughtful, thorough
manner, delivering approximately three dozen detailed recommendations
as part of a preliminary plan that contains seven fundamental
cornerstones for an effective strategy.

The basic cornerstones include increasing funding for meth treatment
with an eye toward long-term initiatives, educating communities about
the dangers of abuse, creating and strengthening penalties for
meth-related crimes and committing resources to help children harmed
by abuse.

The panel, which delivered its recommendations ahead of schedule, is
to be complimented not only for doing the job superbly, but
recognizing that time is of the essence. It remains for state
lawmakers to take this structure and translate it into
legislation.

As the governor points out, fighting illegal meth labs and the
poisonous product they make won't be easy. But the recommendations of
this task force provide a reasoned and realistic plan to begin a much
needed counterattack.