A new program kicked off this week that trains store workers to watch for people who might be buying supplies to make methamphetamine. State officials are partnering with retailers for the “Meth Watch” campaign. Janet Zwick, the Deputy Director of the Iowa Department of Public Health, says the program is just one of the weapons in the fight against meth. She says they recognize they need multiple strategies to combat our supply of methamphetamine. She says the new program is one strategy. Zwick says other things are in the works. She says they’re doing more research on an additive developed at Iowa State University that would make anhydrous ammonia useless in making meth. She says they’re also studying the Oklahoma strategy. Oklahoma puts drugs containing pseudoephedrine, a key meth ingredient, behind the counter. Zwick says cutting back meth production is more than a crime issue.She says we continue to have an increase in the number of meth labs and also an increase in people seeking treatment for methamphetamine abuse.
