Senator Chuck Grassley

Senator Chuck Grassley

It’s not often we hear about methamphetamine lab busts in Iowa any more, but crimes and other problems associated with meth addiction continue to raise concerns.

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley will chair a field hearing of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee in central Iowa next week to discuss the ongoing battle with meth. Grassley says Iowa law enforcement and drug treatment officials tell him the problem is still “severe.”

Grassley says, “While some state and federal laws have helped to limit meth production in our state, Mexican drug cartels are apparently stepping in to eliminate the gains we’ve made in the fight against meth.”

In recent years, state and federal legislation has restricted the ability to buy key ingredients used in making meth, like allergy medications that contain pseudoephedrine. Still, drug lords south of the border are managing to smuggle in larger and larger quantities of the ready-to-use drug.

“The hearing is designed to learn about current trends concerning meth use and distribution in Iowa,” Grassley says. “Another purpose of it is to bring awareness to the issue, and another purpose, to find out if there are ways the federal government can help address the problem beyond what we’re already doing.” Iowans who want to offer input at the hearing but who can’t attend will still have options.

“I intend to hear from witnesses on the front lines in the battle against meth abuse,” Grassley says, “in addition, to help us gain full understanding of the problem, Iowans can submit written testimony for the hearing record.”

The hearing is scheduled for next Tuesday, October 13th, at 10 A.M. in the main auditorium of the State Historical Building in Des Moines.