New Laws to Combat Meth in Tennessee
By Claudia Johnson
Pulaski Citizen
April 5, 2005

Comprehensive legislation designed to combat methamphetamine manufacturing and abuse in Tennessee was signed into law last week, while federal legislation to mandate lab cleanup is pending in Congress.

Both Giles County Sheriff Eddie Bass and General Session Judge John Damron praised the legislature for enacting the new laws. Bass, a member of the Legislative Committee of the state sheriff's association, said that organization has been promoting stiffer laws for some time. Damron, who has seen the volume of meth-related cases in general session increase dramatically in recent months, commented that he is pleased that lawmakers recognized the extent and severity of the meth problem and took action.

"Today represents a major milestone in the war on methamphetamine," Gov. Phil Bredesen said before signing the Meth-Free Tennessee Act of 2005. "These new measures will give law enforcement more of the vital tools they need to fight this deadly drug."

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration estimates that Tennessee now accounts for 75 percent of meth lab seizures in the Southeast from October 2003 to August 2004, law enforcement authorities seized nearly 1,200 labs in the Volunteer State- a 397 percent increase from 2000. Tennessee ranked third nationally in meth seizures and arrests in DEA estimate for 2004.

Meth, a powerfully addictive stimulant that affects the central nervous system, is produced in clandestine laboratories across Tennessee using relatively inexpensive over-the-counter ingredients. The centerpiece provision of the new law that requires pharmacies to move certain cold and sinus products behind the counter takes effect in 30 days.

Retailers with no pharmacies were required to remove products from their shelves, and cease selling them within 24 hours, and the empty shelves observed at several retail outlets around Giles County this weekend proved the stores are complying. Produces affected include cold and sinus pills containing pseudoephedrine, a decongestant which is the vital ingredient in methamphetamine manufacturing. The only products exempt from the new limits are those in the form of liquids or soft gelatin-or liquid filled capsules, which currently are not deemed viable in the meth manufacturing process.

Meth is particularly harmful to children. The Tennessee Department of Children's Services reports more than 700 children were involved in meth-related investigations over the past six months. Especially at risk are infants and toddlers living in homes in which toxic lab emissions and residue settle on floors and furniture.

Bass said this has been among his biggest concerns as he's confronted meth labs in Giles County, and Damron has already ordered the removal of several children from their parents' custody after meth lab busts.

"The law has some teeth, especially when it comes to protecting the children," Bass said.

Changes in the law will close the so called "personal use loophole" in criminal law that allows meth cooks to secure lighter penalties by claiming they manufactured the drug only for personal use. Also, in the future health professionals will be required by law to report meth lab related burns and injuries to local law enforcement.

Additionally, it creates an online registry within the Department of Environment and Conservation listing properties quarantined by law enforcement due to meth lab contamination. Bass said the quarantine provision will directly impact rental property and storage facility owners who may be unaware of a meth lab's operation but will lose use of their property during quarantine and will be required to decontaminate the site at their expense to TDEC specifications before it can be reentered.

"The law does not give us any leeway," Bass warned. "Before you rent, do a background check. It's public record. If they have a history of drug charges, it doesn't mean they are doing to it again, but there's a good chance."

Criminal conviction information is available at the Giles County Courthouse, and a special registry is being created within the TN Bureau of Investigation listing the names and offenses of convicted meth cooks.

In Congress the proposed Methamphetamine Remediation Research Act of 2005 calls for legislation to develop health-based guidelines for the clean up of former meth labs, according to U.S. Rep. Lincoln Davis, a co-sponsor of the bill and a member of the House Science Committee, which as unanimously approved it.

Davis' press secretary Tom Hayden noted that the state and federal legislation complement each other.

"The obvious aim of both bills is to protect the health and well being of Tennesseans with our bill reaching even further at the national level," Hayden said. "The governor's bill is a preemptive strike at curbing the production of meth, while Congressman Davis' bill deals mainly with the after effects of meth and how best to clean it up."

Hayden said Davis met a couple in his district who bought a house not knowing it had been the site of a lab. The wife told the Congressman there was "fuzzy stuff" growing out of the light sockets. They were forces to move due to the health effects and excessive cost associated with the clean up.

"This legislation would help them have a better understanding of how to proceed in decontaminating their house house and possibly making it livable again," Hayden said. "In essence, this bill is all about public health, public safety and consumer protection."

To further combat Tennessee's meth problem, Bredesen's FY05-06 budget proposal includes $2.4 million for increased criminal penalties for meth related crimes, $1.7 million to launch a drug court pilot project endorsed by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy to test the effectiveness of a combination of treatment and light incarceration, $15. million to launch a statewide education and public awareness campaign and $600,000 to provide meth lab response training to law enforcement and other first responders.