REGION CAN'T AFFORD TO LOSE METH BATTLE

It's Not Always Good To Be Number One.

That is especially true when it comes to methamphetamine - the illegal,
manmade super stimulant taking our region by storm. Efforts to fight the
dangerous drug involve everyone from beat cops to shopkeepers, from career
prosecutors to government agencies.

The prospects for success remain an unknown quantity, but this is a battle
we cannot afford to lose. The stakes are just too high.

In Tennessee, meth is already the main reason that children are taken from
their homes by social workers. In the past 18 months, more than 1,600
children were taken from Tennessee homes where the drug was being cooked.
And, more than 1,800 secret drug laboratories were dismantled in Tennessee
in 2003 alone.

Those are scary numbers, and Tennessee certainly is at the forefront of
this growing drug epidemic. But Virginia, too, has seen methamphetamine
abuse and production blossom.

In fact, our little section of Virginia has the unfortunate distinction of
leading the state in meth lab seizures. Washington County accounts for a
quarter of all labs uncovered in the state so far this year; throw in
Bristol Virginia and that figure climbs to nearly a third.

The greater Southwest Virginia region - which includes 15 counties - also
tops the state in meth lab discoveries.

You could argue local and federal law enforcers are simply doing a better
job finding labs here than in other parts of the state, but that's likely
only part of the explanation. It appears methamphetamine has become the
drug of choice for too many in our region.

A few years ago, the top drug problem was the widespread illegal use of the
potent prescription painkiller, OxyContin. Before that, it was crack cocaine.

The OxyContin problem, terrible as it was, appears to have faded - in a
large part because of relentless pursuit by police and prosecutors of those
dealing the drug. The unchecked flow of the drug from some area doctors
also dried up after a series of high-profile prosecutions.

But even as the OxyContin epidemic peaked, methamphetamine already was a
growing and gathering danger.

"The meth problem is just as bad as Oxy. It's just not on the radar,"
federal prosecutor Eric Hurt said two years ago.

It's definitely on the radar now. Tennessee lawmakers have formed a task
force to study the problem and a statewide hotline has been set up to
report those suspected of involvement in meth-related activities.

In Virginia, the focus has been police investigations and a slew of federal
prosecutions resulting in major prison time in some cases. But finding meth
labs - which tend to be in secluded, rural areas or even in the backs of
pickup trucks - is like searching for a needle in a haystack.

Those efforts to find laboratories and prosecute those responsible must
continue. But a comprehensive solution to the meth problem will take much more.

This is a battle that's not going to be over in a few days, weeks or even
years. It is going to require a sustained commitment of cash and resources
for years to come. We need to be ready for that fight.