State officials today announced another milestone in Iowa’s fight against methamphetamine. Lieutenant Governor Patty Judge says special tank locks have now been installed on anhydrous ammonia tanks in all 99 counties. The effort involved 4 years of work and more than one million dollars from the federal government.
Iowa Drug Policy Coordinator Gary Kendall says Iowa’s had a 90 percent reduction in meth labs, since a new law was passed limiting sales of products containing pseudoephedrine. Kendell says the national reduction is near 58 percent, "so it’s clear that there’s something else at work in Iowa that’s leading to the reduction in the number of meth labs. It’s programs like this, the anhydrous ammonia tank lock program, that sets Iowa apart."
Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey says there are now 24,000 tank locks installed around the state. Northey says farmers can now be assured that anhydrous ammonia is feeding their crops, rather than being used to "poison the families of Iowa." So far this year, there have been 77 meth labs busts in Iowa. In 2004, the state had 1,500 meth lab incidents.