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DrugScreening.org


 

Iowa Law Credited with Drop in Meth Labs
October 7, 2005

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News Summary

An Iowa law limiting sales of drugs containing pseudoephedrine has won praise for cutting the number of clandestine methamphetamine labs in the state, the Britt News-Tribune reported Oct. 6.

Seizures of meth labs have dropped 75 percent since the law passed four months ago, law-enforcement officials said. The law requires cold medicines and other drugs containing pseudoephedrine to be sold behind pharmacy counters, limits purchases to 7,500 milligrams per month, and requires customers to show ID and sign a log when making a purchase.

"This has had a huge impact on us," said Hancock County Sheriff's Deputy Ray Penning. "We’re noticing a very big drop in meth lab dump sites ... This new law is definitely helping. The (products used to make meth) are harder for makers to get."

However, experts say that 80 percent of the meth consumed in Iowa is imported into the state, not made locally. "I tend to believe the problem is not gone," Penning said. "We still have a major problem with our production and people getting ahold of the drugs in other ways."

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