The opioid epidemic is making headlines across the country, but in Iowa, officials say they’re not losing sight of abuse of other drugs. Steve Lukan, director of the Governor’s Office of Drug Control Policy, says methamphetamine trafficking in the state may be at an all-time high.
Lukan’s agency has released an annual report that outlines the state’s drug threats. It shows in the last fiscal year over 46-thousand (46,000) people sought treatment for substance abuse in Iowa and those citing meth as their primary substance reached a record high level of nearly one-in-five (19.8%). Alcohol remains the most cited substance by those in treatment (45.2%) followed by marijuana (25.3%). Lukan is disturbed by a survey that found one-fourth of 11th graders in Iowa “perceive no risk” in smoking marijuana.
Iowa’s overall rate of illegal drug use, at 6.27-percent, is second only to South Dakota’s 5.82-percent. One major concern is fatal traffic crashes in Iowa involving drugs OR drugs and alcohol combined rose to an all-time high of 84 last year. That topped the previous high of 72 alcohol and drug-related fatalities in 2005.
