Des Moines, Iowa-Nearly 24,000 anhydrous ammonia nurse tank locks installed with help of federal grants are reducing significantly the number of thefts for methamphetamine use, according to state law enforcement and agriculture interests. The Iowa drug policy office reported that where locks were installed, meth labs dropped even before sales of pseudoephedrine-based cold medicines were restricted. A 2006 survey by the Agribusiness Association of Iowa found that 95 percent of its members using locks said they were effective in preventing anhydrous ammonia thefts. According to the latest preliminary count from the Iowa Department of Public Safety’s Division of Narcotics Enforcement, the number of reported meth labs in Iowa so far in 2007 represents an 89.6 percent reduction from 2004, when Iowa recorded 1,500 meth lab incidents. This year, Iowa is on course to record roughly 160 meth labs. “Iowa has been a national leader in combating the meth problem, and the Anti-Meth Tank Lock program is another example, based on a nearly 90 percent drop in meth labs and a tremendous reduction in fertilizer thefts,” said Lt. Governor Patty Judge, at a recent capitol ceremony marking the milestone. “Iowans are safer, thanks to the concerted efforts of agriculture retailers and sheriffs to lock down anhydrous ammonia nurse tanks at retail outlets in all 99 counties.” Iowa Public Safety Commissioner Gene Meyer added, “Indirectly, the Tank Lock program and related efforts are paying other dividends, too. A good portion of the drug enforcement resources that were taxed by the meth lab menace are now directed at the much larger foreign supply of meth that is smuggled into our state and our communities on a daily basis.”
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