Drug crimes in Tennessee have risen to their second-highest number in eleven years. That comes despite the fact that overall crime rates in the Volunteer State are dropping. On the one hand, Tennessee has experienced four years of general crime declines. On the other hand, the Tennessean reports that drug-related incidents are on the rise throughout the state.
In Davidson and Rutherford counties, drug crimes rose by double-digit percentages.
Law enforcement officials in the region say part of the reason behind the rise in drug crimes is increased efforts by policing agencies that target meth and prescription pill abuse.
Police say the anti-meth push has reduced the number of large-scale labs in Tennessee.
However, drug dealers are now utilizing smaller-scale methods of cooking the drug, and are hiring small groups of individuals to buy prescription drugs as a way of getting around legal limits on purchasing pseudoephedrine, a necessary ingredient for meth.
