OFFICIALS STEP UP METH FIGHT

While Iowa law-enforcement officials continue to battle the
methamphetamine epidemic by busting labs and jailing producers, the
federal and state governments recently began tackling the issue with
a massive public-awareness campaign.

Last week, federal and state officials, including Gov. Tom Vilsack,
showed off a series of 30-second television advertisements that
expose the effects of the highly addictive drug on users, their
children, and their surrounding neighbors to 23 cities nationwide,
including Des Moines and Cedar Rapids.

The campaign's two main themes - "So, Who Has the Drug Problem Now?"
and "End Meth in Your Town" - aim to inform people about the effects
of meth on their families and communities. The production of meth
requires mixing highly toxic and inflammable ingredients, which can
release harmful fumes and vapors into the air - and sometimes result
in explosions.

According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration,
methamphetamine remains the principal drug in Iowa.

There have been 619 reported meth-lab incidents in Iowa in 2005,
according to the Division of Narcotics Enforcement in the state
Department of Public Safety. There were 1,253 reported to the
narcotics agency in 2004.

"It has been a problem in the past," said Iowa City police Sgt. Doug
Hart. "I've seen a significant drop-off."

The decrease in lab busts can be attributed to a law passed by the
state Legislature in May, Hart said. The measure put cold medicines
with pseudoephedrine - an ingredient in meth production - behind the
counter. It also limited the quantity that could be purchased and
required that the buyer produce photo identification.

In the first five months following the law's passage, there was an 80
percent reduction in meth labs, said Dale Wooley, an associate
director of the Iowa Governor's Office of Drug Control Policy.

Most meth labs are exposed through public reporting, so lawmakers
feel that familiarizing citizens with information regarding the drug
and the signs of users is important.

"Over the last several years, Iowans have been educated on what a
meth lab is," Wooley said. "Anybody who has a suspicion should
contact law enforcement."