TASK FORCE TERRITORY EXPANDS AS NUMBER OF METH LABS RISES

The head of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration stopped by McGhee
Tyson airport Thursday to announce the expansion of a task force aimed at
slowing methamphetamine production in East Tennessee.

Asa Hutchinson said the thriving black market demand for methamphetamine, a
potent stimulant derived from over-the-counter cold medications, has
skyrocketed across the nation since the mid-1990s and Tennessee has been no
exception.

"In Tennessee, we know" the number of labs seized by law enforcement is
"dramatically up," Hutchinson said. "Meth poses a danger to children, a
danger to neighbors and to the community."

The use and production of meth, which is generally manufactured in small,
mobile labs by addicts for personal use or for resale, reached epidemic
proportions in southeastern Tennessee over the past few years, officials said.

But the efforts of the Southeast Tennessee Methamphetamine Task Force have
apparently driven producers farther north, officials said. In response to a
sharp climb in the number of meth-related incidents between Knoxville and
the Tri-Cities, the task force will now have jurisdiction in all 41 East
Tennessee counties.

Law-enforcement officials are especially intent on curbing meth production
in part because the process used to make it can produce explosions and may
release highly toxic chemicals into the environment.

Last Friday, an explosion at a meth lab inside a mobile home near Bulls Gap
led to the deaths of two men and critically injured a third. Nine
law-enforcement officers and ambulance workers had to undergo
decontamination procedures after they were called to the scene three days
later by the sole survivor of the blast.

Meth users "are not aware of the extraordinary dangers and health
consequences of the drug," Hutchinson said. He added that meth's popularity
is growing in rural areas while other street drugs such as heroin and
cocaine are seen most often in urban centers.

The federal government has given specialized meth training to 154 state and
local law-enforcement officers and provided each officer with approximately
$2,000 in equipment, officials said.

Harry S. Mattice, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee,
sought to hammer home the Bush administration's argument that the illegal
drug trade is linked to terrorism and is therefore a national security
issue. He also said the drug war must be fought "neighborhood by
neighborhood and block by block" and promised to "throw the full weight of
the federal government" against drug dealers.

After the news conference, Mattice admitted that expanding the task force
doesn't necessarily mean more resources will be immediately available to
combat methamphetamine.

He said no additional funding or personnel are slated to be part of the
newly expanded task force. Instead, he explained, the task force's
resources will be spread out in different directions.

"It's a strategic decision," he said.