Pubdate: Tue, 23 Mar 2004 Source: Knoxville News-Sentinel (TN) Copyright: 2004 The Knoxville News-Sentinel Co. Contact: http://www.knoxnews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/226 Author: Associated Press LEGISLATIVE PANEL ON METH PUNTS ISSUE TO GOVERNOR NASHVILLE - A special legislative committee appointed to study dozens of bills and find a solution to the spread of methamphetamine and its devastating impact on families essentially gave up Monday. 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 in January. Rep. Judd Matheny, R-Tullahoma, who proposed some of the legislation, was not pleased with the outcome. He said waiting a year "without notable progress will be more devastating than you can imagine." - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman