Gibbons: Curbing meth takes on renewed urgency

Gibbons: Curbing meth takes on renewed urgency
By Bill Gibbons
January 25, 2006

Bio info: Bill Gibbons is district attorney general for Shelby County.

As district attorney, I have seen a lot of misery, pain and senseless loss of life created by drug abuse. But few things have made a bigger impact on me than the effects of Tennessee's methamphetamine problem.

In 2004, Tennessee law enforcement agencies recorded the second highest number of meth lab busts in the country. And although the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation reports the number of seizures decreased by more than 50 percent last year, even one meth lab operating in our state is too many.

We've all heard accounts of meth lab explosions injuring innocent people and destroying property. While the dangers such labs pose to people's homes are obvious, much of the destruction caused by meth use is more subtle. Meth addicts affect us all through the crimes they commit to support their drug habits, the neglect of children in their care, and the risk they pose to others.

The largest concentrations of meth production, distribution and abuse continue to be in Tennessee's predominantly rural counties. But shifts in production from small-time !kitchens! in mobile homes and the backs of cars to !super labs! in Mexico have significantly altered the patterns of meth use in our state.

Existing drug cartels and organized distribution networks are moving in on Tennessee's meth market. We run the risk that !home-cooked! meth will be replaced by crystal meth imported from the West Coast. And if crystal meth ever becomes the drug of choice on the streets of our urban areas, we will face problems far greater than those caused by the crack cocaine epidemic: Meth is reputed to be even more addictive than crack, and the behavior of meth addicts more violent.

The good news is that we are making progress in the fight. In 2005, Tennessee made manufacturing meth more difficult by requiring pseudoephedrine to be sold from behind pharmacy counters, and law enforcement agencies throughout the state cracked down on users and manufacturers.

As we begin 2006, our focus must expand to include prevention as well. The number of one-time meth users who become addicts is staggering, and the only guaranteed way not to become an addict is never to try the drug at all.

A large group of Tennesseans is standing up to fight this threat to the health and safety of our citizens. Last November, district attorneys from across Tennessee joined Gov. Phil Bredesen and others to form a statewide effort aimed at educating Tennesseans about meth. The !Meth Destroys! campaign tells the truth about the drug, using straightforward brochures, posters and videos to highlight how methamphetamine destroys users' bodies and lives.

The effort features a DVD focusing on real Tennesseans and their battles with the drug. Brochures detailing meth's ravaging effects on the body will be handed out to public school students in grades 6-12. They're not easy to look at, but neither are meth's physical effects.

So far this school year, we've already taken a clear, direct message about the dangers of meth to about 20 middle schools in Shelby County.

Our yearlong effort will continue to spread the message that !meth destroys! by next reaching out to parents and community leaders. In the coming months, we will be speaking to churches, civic groups and parents across the state. Our message: The dangers of meth aren't limited to users and their families; they extend to the land on which it's made, the economy it damages and the emotional well-being of communities where residents live in fear of the drug.

We need a communitywide dialog to encourage new ideas about how best to rid our community of this devastating drug.

For those already addicted, studies show outpatient treatment does not usually work. The best way to break a meth addiction is with inpatient treatment that lasts 12 to 18 months. This year, Shelby County Mayor A C Wharton and I plan to ask the General Assembly for state funding to provide inpatient treatment for meth addicts through the Shelby County Drug Court.

Education remains the biggest weapon we have in this fight. You can learn more about the drug's dangers and what you can do to fight meth by visiting MethFreeTn.org. Meth destroys lives and families, but together we can help make Tennessee meth-free.