The primary topics of conversation last week at the Capital had to do with two drugs—methamphetamine and tobacco. The first is an illegal drug that is being produced in makeshift labs in Iowa, and the other is a legal drug that is driving up the costs of health care. Most readers know of my work in the area of tobacco prevention and cessation, so I will focus my comments on the meth problem in Iowa.

For several years, legislators and law enforcement officials have been trying to find a way to shut down the growing number of meth labs in Iowa. 2004 figures indicate that law enforcement dealt with over 1,450 labs throughout the state. Iowa ranks third in the nation in the number of meth labs discovered. This is a problem state-wide, since at least one meth lab has been found in every county in Iowa.

On average, state and local law enforcement deal with 26 meth labs per week or about 4 per day. This is dangerous for those risking their lives to clean up the lab, but it is also expensive, costing about $2,000 in toxic waste disposal and another $1,000 in law enforcement costs.

These numbers do not begin to tabulate the health costs to children and others who live near these labs, or the danger that neighbors face when a lab explodes in their apartment building or on their street. And, these numbers neither account for the costs of prosecuting meth producers and sellers nor does it calculate the costs of imprisonment of the convicted or the cost of foster care for the children in those families.

In Carroll County, an infant nearly died from being given a baby bottle filled with meth making chemicals. In Mason City a little girl was found in a family car, seated next to bubbling vapors from anhydrous ammonia used to make meth. In the last three years almost 1,000 children were classified as victims of abuse by the Department of Human Services due to meth production in their homes.

Last year the State of Oklahoma decided to classify one of the ingredients in meth—pseudoephedrine--a Schedule V drug. Pseudoephedrine (PSE) is a key ingredient in many cold medications. Making it a Schedule V drug means that those products which contain it would be taken off the shelves and could only be sold in pharmacies. Purchase of the products would require a picture ID and a signature. It worked so well in Oklahoma that the number of meth labs dropped by about 50 %.

The opposition to adopting this strategy in Iowa comes primarily from convenience stores and some grocers, who argue that families in rural areas need someplace to go at night if a child needs cough or cold medicine. The good news is that there are many cough and cold medications that can be purchased over-the-counter that do not contain PSE. I received a list that contained 115 over-the-counter cold and cough medications that do not contain PSE. And, pharmaceutical companies are developing alternatives to PSE. It is my hope that the Legislature can find a way to reduce meth labs in Iowa without hurting local convenience stores or grocery stores.

Unfortunately, restricting the purchase of medications with PSE will not eliminate meth use in Iowa, because this is only one piece of the problem. It does not address the fact that about 80% of methamphetamine is made south of the border and transported into our state. However, if we can reduce the number of meth labs in Iowa, we may be able to protect our children and neighbors from the effects of these dangerous labs.

I look forward to hearing from constituents about the work of the Iowa Legislature. You can write me at the State Capitol, Des Moines, IA 50319; call me at 515/281-7328 or e-mail me at ro.foege@legis.state.ia.us.

Ro

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