CITY ORDINANCES SPEED UP PROCESS IN COMBATING METH

While the Governor's Task Force on Methamphetamine Abuse is making
statewide recommendations to combat the illegal substance, the
Tullahoma Board of Mayor and Aldermen has enacted two separate
ordinances geared to speed up the process at the local level. The
board approved the second and final readings 6-0 Monday of the
ordinances - one to regulate the display, sale and delivery of cold
medicines ephedrine, pseudoephrine and phenylopropanolamine and the
other to condemn property used for meth production until proper
cleanup measures are taken.

Alderman Troy Bisby had recently asked the board to consider adopting
the two ordinances that he deems would strengthen the city's control
over meth-related issues.

He had presented the board with two drafts - one regarding meth lab
clean-up issues and the other focusing on regulating sales of
ephedrine, pseudoephedrine and phenolylpropanolamine.

The drug lab ordinance will require that property owners be
responsible for site clean-up costs.

Bisby had said property owners as landlords would take a more active
interest in whether they rent to meth producers, and the landlords
would also be more aware about debris from illegal labs being on their
property.

The other ordinance will regulate amounts of the cold medicine
products sold and require purchasers to show identification and sign
documents when they buy them.

Quantity restrictions involve sales of no more than 100 tablets per
customer of any products containing any of the three cold medicines.

Purchasers will also be required to register:

* The specific quantity they bought.

* Their names though a proper signature.

* Driver's license numbers or other official identification
information.

* Purchase dates.

Clerks who sell the medicine will also be required to sign or initial
the purchase documents.

Mayor Steve Cope, who was not present at Monday's meeting, had said
recently that the city could run into problems by adopting such
ordinances when their full scope has not been determined by the state
government.

Cope, a Governor's Task Force member, had said the state is attempting
to answer pending questions through recommendations from the
Governor's Task Force on Methamphetamine Abuse.

Cope had said enacting ordinances where state law regarding such
issues is unclear could make it tough for Tullahoma to enforce the
measures.

Meanwhile, the Governor's Task Force delivered on Friday
recommendations to found Gov. Phil Bredesen's strategy to address the
methamphetamine epidemic in Tennessee.

A press release from the governor's office says that in all, the Task
Force delivered about three dozen detailed recommendations as part of
a preliminary plan to attack methamphetamine abuse.

Highlights involve:

* Increasing funding for methamphetamine treatment with an eye toward
long-term initiatives.

* Educating communities about the dangers of methamphetamine
abuse.

* Creating new penalties and strengthening existing penalties for
methamphetamine-related crimes.

* Committing resources to help children harmed by methamphetamine
manufacturing and abuse.

* Limiting the availability of pre-cursor materials used to illegally
manufacture methamphetamine.

* Addressing contamination caused by clandestine methamphetamine
laboratories.

* Improving coordination between federal, state and local
stakeholders.

Bredesen said in the press release that the Task Force's
recommendations represent a "sensible approach" that lays out a
meaningful plan for attacking the meth problem. He asked the panel to
continue meeting periodically in order to make additional
recommendations, as needed.

"We're not going to solve Tennessee's methamphetamine problem
overnight," Bredesen said. "But I believe this Task Force has put
together a realistic set of ideas that will put some teeth in the
state's ability to deal with this insidious drug."