DEA CHIEF CHEERS METH BATTLE IN STATE BUT SAYS WAR NOT OVER

KNOXVILLE - Drug Enforcement Administration director Asa Hutchinson
suggested yesterday that Tennessee may be winning the battle against
methamphetamine but indicated that the drug war was not over.

U.S. Attorney Sandy Mattice agreed, saying that a task force attack on the
highly addictive stimulant begun three years ago in southeast Tennessee
would be expanded to all 41 counties in East Tennessee.

"In Tennessee, we know that the number of labs seized and taken down by law
enforcement is dramatically up," Hutchinson, a former federal prosecutor
and Arkansas congressman, told a news conference.

"I think that is a tribute to good law enforcement, but also a reflection
of the fact that methamphetamine is increasing in its home use and
development."

Hutchinson is touring the country as part of what he calls his
"Methamphetamine in America: Not in Our Town Tour." Over the next three
months, he plans to visit 30 states where meth has become a problem.

Federal, state and local law enforcement agencies formed the Southeast
Tennessee Methamphetamine Task Force in response to the explosive growth of
the so-called poor man's cocaine in 18 southeastern counties.

"We are very proud of the results," Mattice said.

Since late 1999, the task force has seized 684 methamphetamine labs,
arrested more than 515 people, confiscated more than 140 weapons and
returned 148 federal indictments.

These drug lab seizures represent 75% of the meth lab seizures in the state.

"Our intelligence from the field indicates that within the task force
region, overall volume of methamphetamine activities seems to be on the
decline," Mattice said.

"Unfortunately, we cannot report the scourge of methamphetamine has
disappeared entirely from East Tennessee.

"Indeed, we believe that we are beginning to see a rise in activity in more
of the northeast counties of the state."

A methamphetamine lab ex-ploded last week in a mobile home in Hawkins
County, killing two men and severely injuring a third.

Hutchinson said the DEA had been tracking the eastward spread of
methamphetamine from California for several years.

The drug's greatest appeal seems to be in rural areas, where it can be
easily made with readily available contents: cold pills, nail polish
remover, rubbing alcohol, salt and batteries.