Gross says meth his top public safety priority

Doug Gross, the Republican candidate for Governor, says his number one public safety priority would be attacking the growth methamphetamine problem. Gross delivered a speech to the Iowa State Police Association’s convention in Bettendorf today, and called for a new emphasis on finding the meth that’s coming into Iowa on the Interstates.Gross says up to 90 percent of the meth that’s sold in Iowa is made in Mexico, and he suggests re-establishing an Iowa State Highway Patrol unit that focused exclusively on drug interdiction.Gross says drug dealers too often get plea bargains that keep ’em out of prison. Gross says if elected, he’ll conduct an assessment of current drug laws perhaps suggest new penalties. Another idea from Gross: review all prisoners to find the elderly and physically limited inmates who could be moved to cheaper, less-secure facilities.