Committee to seek meth task force
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Committee members could not reach a consensus on the best approach. They knew that money to enact most of the proposals — which would increase jail time for users and producers — would be tough to find.
They voted to ask Gov. Phil Bredesen to work with the Legislature to create a task force that could spend more time on the issue and recommend a comprehensive solution when lawmakers return in January.
“The problem is beyond any one bill,” said Sen. Steve Cohen, D-Memphis, who helped chair the ad hoc committee on methamphetamine-related offenses.
Rep. Judd Matheny, R-Tullahoma, a former law enforcement officer who proposed some of the more far-reaching legislation, said waiting a year “without notable progress will be more devastating than you can imagine.”
Already, the state is taking hundreds of children from homes where meth is being manufactured and Matheny said he expects the number to double by next year. Also, the drug is likely to spread from 43 to all 95 of the state’s counties, he said.
Bredesen spokeswoman Lydia Lenker said the administration already is looking at what other states are doing to combat meth use and said the governor will give “strong consideration” to the committee’s suggestion.
“A task force can be a great first step. You get all the right people around the table to focus on prevention, enforcement and treatment and develop a comprehensive, meaningful solution,” she said.
It also would give the governor time to find enough money to adequately fund a proposal.
“This is such a difficult and complicated matter,” Lenker said. “A patchwork approach isn’t the answer to address all the issues here.”
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