NASHVILLE, Tenn. - There has been a dramatic drop the production of methamphetamine in Tennessee.
The drop was a whopping 48%, but the state was still cleaning up an average of two meth labs every day.
The people who clean up the labs warn not to get too excited, because we've been down that road before.
In Bedford County, we found members of the Tennessee Dangerous Drugs Task Force training police officers and other first responders learning how to react when they discover a meth lab.
TBI Special Agent Tom Farmer showed us some of the equipment. Agent Farmer said, "We will do a lot of the adulteration, neutralization of the chemicals right there on the scene."
Farmer attributes the drop in meth production to three factors: tough enforcement using federal drug laws; new state laws limiting access to Pseudoephedrine, and Mexican drug cartels smuggling meth into Tennessee.
Mexican meth is filling a demand, because while meth lab seizures are down, just as many people appear to be using. Agent Farmer said, "We know we still have a huge meth population out there."
Targeting meth labs has been a priority because of meth lab explosions; like the one that happened at a home last year on Clovernook Drive in Nashville. They could start fires, kill people and contaminate neighborhoods.
A neighbor said, "Scary, I guess, because we have grand-kids that come over all of the time."
Meth labs can also be a danger to first responders like police officers and firefighters, if they're not trained correctly.
Farmer was happy with the drop in labs seized, but he warned Tennessee has been down this road before.
Between 2004 and 2006 federal and state laws limiting Pseudoephedrine purchases decreased the number of meth labs seized in Tennessee, but by 2010 the number shot back up again and the Volunteer State led the country with more than two thousand meth lab seizures.
Agent Farmer said, "We can't just put this one to bed and move on to the next prescription drug or the next heroin problem. We have to fight them all."
Tennessee was not alone reporting large decreases in meth lab seizures. There have also been big drops in Oklahoma and Missouri.
