METH TASK FORCE ADVISED TO TARGET SMALL PRODUCERS

NASHVILLE - Tennessee could make significant inroads against
methamphetamine abuse by attacking makeshift laboratories, even if
those labs account for relatively little of the drug in the state, the
Governor's Task Force on Methamphetamine Abuse was told Monday.

Scott Rowland, general counsel for the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics
and Dangerous Drugs, made the seemingly self-contradictory assertion,
and a defense for it.

Rowland outlined for the 20-member task force the results of
Oklahoma's recently passed law that targeted unrestricted sale of
drugs containing pseudoephedrine, which can be turned into the highly
addictive stimulant methamphetamine with little equipment or expertise.

The task force is debating how to best restrict the sale of
pseudoephedrine. It also wants to establish a registration system for
buyers without infringing on the people who buy it because they have a
cold or sinus infection.

Rowland said meth labs, because they are dangerous to the people
around them and difficult and expensive to clean up, consume an
inordinate amount of public resources.

He said Oklahoma has seen a marked reduction in meth labs in a short
time by restricting the availability of pseudoephedrine, used in
Sudafed and other cold medicines. That has freed police resources to
attack the other main source of the drug - importers and dealers.

Rowland and others also told the task force that something has to be
done to "stop the revolving door" of meth cooks, who often head right
back to their illegal labs while they're out of bail for a meth arrest.

But, he said, "The meth lab problem and the meth problem are not the
same thing."

The task force is considering how best to approach the growing threat
of methamphetamine in Tennessee, which the federal Drug Enforcement
Administration estimates is home to three-quarters of the meth labs in
the Southeast. The task force also acknowledges there are importers of
"finished product" that would not be affected by limiting the supplies
that homegrown manufacturers use.

Oklahoma faced the same dilemma, Rowland said, and decided to attack
one problem at a time. The state law there says only pharmacies can
sell drugs in pill form that contain pseudoephedrine, limits the
amount that can be bought at one time, and limits sales to people 18
or older.

That took it out of the convenience stores and other retail outlets
with fewer controls, he said.

"Cranksters (meth users) who wouldn't think anything of walking into a
7-11 hesitate to go into a pharmacy," he said. "We hope we have
restricted the fuel of this wild fire. ... I'll stand on any
mountaintop and tell you restricting the sale of these substances works."

The task force likely will finalize its recommendations later this
month. Gov. Phil Bredesen is expected to push for legislation to enact
those recommendations when the General Assembly reconvenes next year.