COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE GIVENS WlILL CHAIR METHAMPHETAMINE TASK FORCE

Gov. Phil Bredesen on Thursday named 20 Tennesseans from across the state to
serve on the Governor's Task Force on Methamphetamine Abuse.

The task force will be chaired by Hawkins County native Ken Givens,
who also serves as Tennessee's Commissioner of Agriculture.

"The proliferation of meth represents a clear and present danger to
the health and well-being of our children and our general population,"
Bredesen said.

Reached by cellular telephone while he was traveling by car on
Thursday afternoon, Commissioner Givens said he was honored to have
been chosen by the governor to head the task force. "It's going to be
a real challenge," he said.

Givens noted that methamphetamine abuse "has grown exponentially" in
Tennessee over the last five years and has hit rural areas of the
state particularly hard.

Speaking of those named to the task force, Givens said, "There is a
lot of expertise among them. We hope to be able to lay out a path that
we can follow to develop plans to attack this problem and at least
make a big dent in the problem."

Givens said, "Meth is one of the more harmful drugs that people can
use."

He expressed particular concern about harm to the children of meth
abusers. Children of meth abusers often breathe toxic fumes generated
when meth is produced inside homes.

Morristown Police Chief Roger Overholt and Leighta Laitinen, community
outreach and government relations manager for Johnson City-based
Mountain States Health Alliance, are the only other Northeast
Tennessee residents who were named to the Task Force.

Members of the Task Force represent a broad cross section of
expertise, including law enforcement, health care, education and human
services. The panel also includes 12 ex-officio members who will
provide general advice and counsel to the core group, the press
release said.

First Meeting On Tuesday

The Task Force's first meeting is scheduled for April 27 at the State
Capitol in Nashville.

Subsequent meetings will be held in communities across the state. The
Task Force is charged with developing a comprehensive strategy for
addressing the manufacture, trafficking and abuse of methamphetamine
in Tennessee.

The Task Force's recommendations are due to the Governor no later than
September 1.

Methamphetamine, a powerfully addictive stimulant that affects the
central nervous system, is produced in clandestine laboratories across
Tennessee with relatively inexpensive over-the-counter ingredients.
The drug has been on the rise in recent years.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration estimates that Tennessee now
accounts for 75 percent of meth lab seizures in the Southeast.