The author of a new report on methamphetamine says that while the study concludes meth use is not a national epidemic, that doesn't mean the drug isn't a serious problem in some communities, the Des Moines Register reported June 19.

The report by the Sentencing Project found that meth use has not increased significantly since 1999, that use has dropped among teens, and that fewer than 1 percent of Americans use the drug regularly. But study author Ryan King said the research should not be used to minimize local meth problems that fall outside the national norms. The study has been harshly criticized by some local officials from regions heavily affected by meth use.

"The study says clearly that we think meth has devastating consequences for individual communities, but we were trying to take a national perspective," he said. "We knew it was going to be going out on a limb. We just didn't realize how much. I think it just speaks to the need to address the problem smartly."

Marv Van Haaften, head of Iowa's office of drug control policy, said he agreed with the Sentencing Project's recommendation for putting more resources into addiction treatment; Iowa has the eighth-highest rate of meth use in the country. "The study says let's treat people more than incarcerate them. That I find palatable," he said.

Van Haaften hopes state lawmakers will support a plan to build a drug-treatment prison aimed at meth offenders.