Drugs in the United States: Iowa

Cocaine: Cocaine continues to be readily available throughout Iowa. The cocaine is transported from the West Coast via commercial airlines, motor vehicles, and mail services. Suppliers from Chicago, Illinois, also supply cocaine to eastern Iowa. Mexican polydrug traffickers bring some of the cocaine into the state with shipments of marijuana and methamphetamine. Much of the cocaine HCl is converted into crack cocaine for sale at the retail level. Street gangs control distribution in many of the urban areas of Iowa. An increase in violence accompanies this gang presence.

Heroin: Mexican heroin is available in retail-level quantities throughout the urban areas of Iowa. Most of the heroin seizures are of the black-tar type, while treatment clinics in Des Moines report the presence of Mexican brown powder heroin.

Methamphetamine: Methamphetamine is the primary drug of concern in Iowa. Caucasian males and females are equally the primary users. Most of the methamphetamine in the state is brought in by Hispanic organizations via motor vehicles, commercial airlines, and mail delivery services. The large Mexican communities in Iowa provide an infrastructure to import and distribute the methamphetamine. The purity of imported methamphetamine is declining from earlier years and is cited to be as low as three percent with the average of 20-25 percent. The amount of methamphetamine seized in the state of Iowa increased 34 percent between years 2000 and 2001. Local small toxic laboratories continue to be a significant problem throughout Iowa. Most of the laboratories produce only ounce quantities at a time. Eastern Iowa reports an increasing problem with the laboratories, causing law enforcement agencies to expend a large number of man-hours on the problem.

Club Drugs: The state of Iowa is seeing an increase in the abuse of “club drugs,” such as MDMA and GHB. MDMA (Ecstasy) is found at rave parties in eastern and central Iowa with the state crime lab reporting an increase in the number of MDMA exhibits being processed. The amount of MDMA seized in Iowa increased from 36 dosage units in year 2000 to 252 dosage units in 2001. GHB is another drug of concern throughout the state. In a recent case, a Catholic priest in the Quad Cities area of Eastern Iowa was arrested for GHB production and distribution. The amount of GHB seized in Iowa increased from 0 dosage units in year 2000 to 34 dosage units in 2001.

Marijuana: Marijuana is readily available throughout eastern and northwestern Iowa, usually in combination with cocaine and/or methamphetamine. The majority of the marijuana is imported from the southwest border via commercial airlines, motor vehicles, and mail delivery services. Domestically produced marijuana is also available in Iowa. Small indoor and outdoor grow operations have been found in eastern and central Iowa. “Ditchweed” marijuana is a continuing problem. The ditchweed is used as filler for higher purity imported marijuana. Marijuana Legislation: For the past several years, there have been attempts to introduce legislation regarding the medicinal use of marijuana and the production of hemp, The legislation has always failed to make it out of committee. This legislation was not introduced during the past session.

Other Drugs: The most popular pharmaceutical substances abused in eastern and central Iowa are Vicodin, Lortab, propoxyphene, alprazolam, hydrocodone, Ultram, diazepam, Hycodan, Demerol, Dilaudid, and Percodan. Much of the diversion is through fraudulent prescriptions, doctor shopping, pharmacy break-ins, and hospital thefts. Oxycontin is also noted to be a pharmaceutical drug of abuse in Iowa.

DEA Mobile Enforcement Teams: This cooperative program with state and local law enforcement counterparts was conceived in 1995 in response to the overwhelming problem of drug-related violent crime in towns and cities across the nation. There have been 359 deployments completed resulting in over 14,456 arrests of violent drug criminals as of April 1, 2002. There has been one MET deployment in the Iowa since the inception of the program. The MET deployment to Fort Dodge, Iowa resulted in 18 arrests, and the seizure of .6 pounds of cocaine and .6 pounds of methamphetamine. Also seized were 3 weapons and $8,000 in U.S. currency.

Special Topics: The Midwest High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) was established by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) in 1996, in order to combat methamphetamine in the Midwestern states. Since it’s formation, the DEA has served in a leadership role in the HIDTA. There are nine Iowa-based agencies participating in the Midwest HIDTA, three of which are federal task forces.