Tennessee Meth Lab Seizures On The Rise

Across the Tri-Cities, the State of Tennessee, and the nation, law enforcement officers say methamphetamine is re-emerging as the drug of choice. Through May 31, 2007, the Tennessee Methamphetamine Task Force recorded 258 meth lab busts statewide. Through May 31, 2008, the agency reported 273. In June alone, investigators found 68 meth labs in the Volunteer State, the highest monthly total since March 2006.

Although Tennessee has changed its laws to make it more difficult for a person to buy the ingredients needed to make meth, it appears dealers and addicts still have the will and the way to get their fix. The Meth-Free Tennessee Act of 2005 moved all products containing pseudoephedrine behind the counters at Tennessee pharmacies, required customers to sign a log whenever they bought drugs like Sudafed, and limited the number of boxes a person could buy within a month to just three.

The law has made a drastic difference in reducing the amount of pseudoephedrine that’s available to the public. However, dealers are getting their friends involved as part of an effort to beat the system. Carter County Sheriff Chris Mathes says meth manufacturers are asking their friends to pick up three boxes each every month in return for some of the final product.

“It’s real easy if this person goes and buys two or three here, they’re responsible for that, and everybody gets a little part of the product,“ Mathes said.

Mathes agrees, Tennessee may have some of the toughest meth legislation around, but it’s also bordered by eight other states.

“You can leave the Tri-Cities, go to Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia, Kentucky, a lot of those states that you can make a trip all in one day,“ Mathes said.

The Tennessee Methamphetamine Task Force says the increase is by no means a spike. Still, the agency is aware of the growing number of meth cases. Director Tommy Farmer attributes part of the growth in numbers of labs seized to an increase in the demand inside the United States. He says internationally, other countries are making it more difficult to make meth, forcing people in the U.S. to make it on their own.