Drug Czar drives East with potential meth blocker

Iowa’s Drug Czar is headed east today with a special chemical he hopes will crack the code and keep meth-makers from using anhydrous ammonia as an ingredient. Iowa Drug Policy Coordinator Marvin Van Haaften says they couldn’t find any business willing to ship the chemical to a D-E-A lab in Virginia. Van Haaften says he’s taking it upon himself to drive the stuff there himself because he wants the research to be validated if indeed the additive renders anhydrous ammonia useless in a meth lab. The research started at Iowa State University a couple of years ago to try to find an additive that could make anhydrous unusable for making meth, but still effective for farm applications. Van Haaften says agribusiness in Iowa is eagerly awaiting the opinion from the federal lab. Van Haaften says he “wants to move this along as rapidly” as he can, and that’s why he become “personally involved” in transporting the chemical. Van Haaften says the additive does not pose a threat to the environment. Van Haaften says it’s a naturally-occuring compound common to Iowa soil. Van Haaften left this morning. It’s a 32-hour round trip to Virginia.