Task force takes on farmers' link to meth

Consider: Many farmers were struggling even before fuel prices went up recently, adding to the cost of equipment-dependent agricultural operations. And law-enforcement agencies have been working hard to thwart the theft of anhydrous ammonia -- an essential fertilizer and also a key component in the manufacture of the popular and addictive drug methamphetamine -- from farm tanks.

Now authorities have to contend with a new twist: Cash-strapped farmers are selling anhydrous ammonia to meth makers. The Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force recently arrested a farmer who it is believed has been making such illegal sales for two years.

Farmers selling anhydrous ammonia to meth cooks have been making out like highway bandits. They sell a 20-pound tank for $350. Farmer pay in the neighborhood of 10 cents a pound for the stuff.

The task force is to be commended for its success in cracking down on yet another facet of the growing meth trade that continues to keep Missouri at the top of the heap nationally. The question is: Should these farmers go to prison (see the editorial above) or be sentenced to cleaning up environmentally hazardous meth labs?