TASK FORCE TAKES ON FARMERS' LINK TO METH

Consider: Many farmers were struggling even before fuel prices went up
recently, adding to the cost of equipment-dependent agricultural operations.
And law-enforcement agencies have been working hard to thwart the theft of
anhydrous ammonia -- an essential fertilizer and also a key component in the
manufacture of the popular and addictive drug methamphetamine -- from farm
tanks.

Now authorities have to contend with a new twist: Cash-strapped farmers are
selling anhydrous ammonia to meth makers. The Southeast Missouri Drug Task
Force recently arrested a farmer who it is believed has been making such
illegal sales for two years.

Farmers selling anhydrous ammonia to meth cooks have been making out like
highway bandits. They sell a 20-pound tank for $350. Farmer pay in the
neighborhood of 10 cents a pound for the stuff.

The task force is to be commended for its success in cracking down on yet
another facet of the growing meth trade that continues to keep Missouri at
the top of the heap nationally. The question is: Should these farmers go to
prison (see the editorial above) or be sentenced to cleaning up
environmentally hazardous meth labs?