COPE: TASK FORCE TO IMPACT WAR ON METH

Tullahoma Mayor Steve Cope says Gov. Phil Bredesen's special task
force is making an effort that is bound to make a difference in the
war on methamphetamine abuse. Cope, a task force member, attended the
group's semi-monthly meeting Monday at Roane State Community College
in Harriman.

He summed up his thoughts a day after being there.

"A lot of progress is being made," Cope said, referring to the task
force's initiatives. "There are a lot of good ideas coming out of the
meetings that the governor can review and make recommendations to the
Legislature to adopt."

Cope said tougher laws are on the table to put meth abuse on an equal
plane with cocaine and heroin.

In addition to the laws, high-tech drug-sniffing devices are among the
options being discussed as Tennessee tries to deal with the worst
epidemic of methamphetamine labs in the nation.

The task force hopes to come up with recommendations by Sept. 1 for a
comprehensive approach that includes not only law enforcement, but
children's services and prevention programs.

Some 1,253 meth labs were cleaned up in Tennessee last year, topping
all states for the third consecutive year, according to the U.S. Drug
Enforcement Administration.

Hundreds of children of meth-making parents have been taken into state
custody in Tennessee.

Cope said children from meth homes are victims facing extreme tragedy.

"You know children are our future, and when you get children in a meth
home, exposed to chemicals and burns, it is the worst thing
imaginable," he said.

Task force members, including legislators, police, educators and local
officials said they are considering several possible changes in state
law and policy:

* Creating a separate crime of "severe child abuse" for parents who
make the powerful stimulant with their children present.

* Limiting store purchases of over-the-counter ingredients that are
used to make meth, notably ephedrine and pseudoephedrine which are
commonly used in cold remedies.

* Creating a statewide registry that flags residences where meth labs
have been found and a system for determining if they have been cleaned
up and restored for habitation. Manufacturing meth produces toxic
fumes that can contaminate fabric, carpets and other porous materials
inside homes.

Ken Givens, task force chairman, said he believes Bredesen will take
the necessary steps to properly attack the state's meth abuse problem.

"I believe Gov. Bredesen ... will commit resources if it takes
resources and that is almost a given in my opinion," he said after
viewing a National Guard demonstration regarding its latest $26,000
ion scanner that can detect explosives, drugs and meth chemistry.

As good as that machine is, Michael Kuliasha of the Oak Ridge National
Laboratory described detection devices 1,000 to 1 million times more
sensitive that are being developed mostly for the war on terror. He
suggested they could also help in the campaign against meth.

Kuliasha showcased a handheld device that might be adapted to identify
meth-making chemistry, sensors that could detect meth labs from the
air and scanners that could describe the contents of potentially
lethal containers without opening them. Costs for such devices are as
yet unknown.

The Tennessee National Guard paid for its scanner with the shared
proceeds from criminal forfeitures with U.S. Customs.

The Southeast Tennessee Methamphetamine Task Force, a Hamilton
County-based law enforcement unit that provides equipment and training
to officers in 41 middle and east Tennessee counties, operates with $1
million in annual federal funding secured by U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn.

Although southeast Tennessee has had the most meth activity,
governor's aide Will Pinkston said the problem is spreading.

Stores in Jackson report people from southern Kentucky coming there
for large quantities of potential meth ingredients, and a meth lab
exploded in a hotel a few weeks ago near an inner-city school in Memphis.

The governor's task force has held individual sessions on children and
family issues, treatment and recovery issues and Monday's briefing on
technologies. The group next will be considering community outreach
and education, and hopes to interview officials from other states to
learn how they are combating meth.

"The mission is to understand all the potential strategies that are
out there, and then to try to make some smart decisions about how to
attack the problem," Pinkston said.