| Meth lab cases on the decline
By David Hedges, Publisher
The Times Record-Roane County Reporter
It wasn't long ago that methamphetamine labs in Roane County were as common as yard sales around the first of the month.
But the tide may have turned with a steep decline in the number of meth cases in the local courts.
"It's definitely slowed down," said Roane Sheriff Todd Cole. "Last year we were doing at least one lab a month, sometimes two or three a day.
"We did one in December and one in June, and that's been it," he said.
Last year three Roane grand juries returned a total of 36 indictments in meth-related crimes, including 19 meth lab cases in the May 2005 term alone.
This year the January grand jury returned eight more meth charges, but there were no meth-related indictments that came out of the May grand jury.
The September grand jury, the last of three scheduled for the year, returned indictments in only two meth cases, and one of those was for alleged activity that occurred more than a year ago.
Law enforcement officials say there are several reasons behind a steep drop in the number of meth lab cases.
Prosecutor Mark Sergent said passage of a bill by the state legislature that restricted the sale of cold tablets containing pseudoephedrine has had a major impact.
The law that went into effect last year moved the products from drug store shelves to behind the pharmacy counter. It also limited the amount that can be purchased at one time and requires purchasers to show identification. The purchases are also logged.
"The passage of that bill has helped tremendously," Sergent said.
Even after the state law went into effect last summer, Cole said people were still going out of state to purchase ingredients.
That, too, is changing as a new federal law went into effect Saturday in all 50 states, similar to the one in West Virginia that puts restrictions on the purchase of products containing pseudoephedrine.
Sergent said the active pursuit of cases by local law enforcement, and stiff sentencing by judges, also has made a difference.
Cole said the most of those involved in making methamphetamine in Roane County are now behind bars.
"The fact that we have arrested so many has made a difference," the sheriff said. "We have been fortunate in getting the primary people involved in making meth in our area."
Cole said several cases, especially those involving convicted felons with firearms, were referred to federal courts where sentences are stiffer. "If they are prosecuted under state charges they may get a couple of years," he said.
"But if they are a prohibited person in possession of a firearm in a drug lab, they get a minimum of five years. A lot of the people we have been prosecuting federally have been getting five to 10 years."
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