DES MOINES -- Mayor Wayne Holliday and other officials in the Northeast Iowa town of Hazelton didnt set out to change the world when they took aim at methamphetamine labs in 2002. But at Statehouse ceremony Tuesday, Hazelton was credited with delivering the first punch in a three-year struggle to knock out Iowas homegrown meth trade. "We did it to clean up our town, said Holliday, who has been mayor of Hazelton, population 950, for 10 years. At the time we done it, we were told we couldnt do it. We said, Yes we can." [continues 526 words]
Iowa's three-month-old limits on the sale of pseudoephedrine -- a legal cold remedy that doubles as a key methamphetamine ingredient -- have succeeded in slashing the number of hidden homegrown labs churning out the highly-addictive drug. That's the good news. The bad news is that a federal government still appears determined to screw things up. As usual, it all started with good intentions. Members of Congress saw what states such as Oklahoma, Iowa and Missouri are doing to limit access to pseudoephedrine. They correctly believed a set of national sales limits would be a good idea. [continues 433 words]
DES MOINES - Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack's decision to restore voting rights to thousands of felons was criticized Monday by his Republican predecessor, who argued that the move is politically motivated. Former Gov. Terry Branstad joined a chorus of GOP leaders who disagree with Vilsack, a Democrat. "I think it's a mistake,'' Branstad said in an interview. He left office in 1999 after serving 16 years as governor. "To me, this looks like a very political move. All of the sudden, you're just going to make 50,000 people eligible to vote.'' [continues 424 words]
Last year, the notion of slapping tight limits on the sale of popular cold medications used to make methamphetamine was about as politically popular as influenza. Rep. Clel Baudler and Marvin Van Haaften, Iowa's drug czar, couldn't even get a bill out of committee. Retailers and drug companies bottled up the idea and convinced lawmakers to swallow a much weaker law. Fast forward to last Tuesday. Van Haaften and Baudler are standing behind Gov. Tom Vilsack on the Capitol steps. The governor is putting his name on legislation that would require Iowans to find a pharmacy, show a government ID and sign a logbook to get a box of Tylenol Cold tablets. [continues 588 words]
DES MOINES - Iowa lawmakers swiftly approved legislation Wednesday creating the nation's toughest limits on the sale of pseudoephedrine, a common, legal cold medication used to make the illegal stimulant methamphetamine. The House and Senate embraced a compromise bill just hours after it was crafted by a special panel of lawmakers. Passage sends it to Gov. Tom Vilsack, who praised lawmakers and said he will sign the bill next week. "It is an indication of what can happen when we work in a bipartisan way. It is an indication of what happens when we focus on the common good," he said. [continues 667 words]
DES MOINES - Iowa stands on the brink of enacting the nation's toughest limits on the sale of popular cold remedies containing pseudoephedrine - a critical ingredient in making the illegal narcotic methamphetamine. But it does not stand alone, especially in the meth-ravaged Midwest. Missouri, Minnesota and Wisconsin are poised to allow only pharmacies to sell most cold, flu and allergy remedies containing pseudoephedrine. Nebraska is mulling a bill that would require retailers to put such products under lock and key. [continues 695 words]
DES MOINES -- The fate of a controversial bill intended to shut down hundreds of methamphetamine labs now rests in the hands of the trooper and the speaker. The trooper is Rep. Clel Baudler, R-Greenfield, a retired state trooper who pushed tough new limits on the sale of pseudoephedrine -- a common cold remedy used to make meth -- through the House committee he chairs. The speaker is House Speaker Christopher Rants, R-Sioux City, who argued Wednesday that Baudler's Public Safety Committee went too far [continues 495 words]
DES MOINES - The fate of a controversial bill intended to shut down hundreds of methamphetamine labs now rests in the hands of the Trooper and the Speaker. The trooper is Rep. Clel Baudler, R-Greenfield, a retired state patrol officer who pushed tough new limits on the sale of pseudoephedrine - a common cold remedy used to make the illegal meth - through the House committee he chairs. The Speaker is Speaker of the House Christopher Rants, R-Sioux City, who argued Wednesday that Baudler's Public Safety Committee went too far. [continues 392 words]
DES MOINES -- Iowa House Speaker Christopher Rants said Thursday he believes lawmakers are getting "carried away" in their zeal to crack down on the sale of over-the-counter cold remedies that can be used to make methamphetamine. Rants, R-Sioux City, argues House and Senate bills go too far in seeking to limit the sale of pseudoephedrine -- a common nasal decongestant found in dozens of cold, flu and allergy medications. Lawmakers are considering limits with hopes of keeping the drug out of the hands of meth makers. Senators voted 50-0 Thursday for legislation restricting where Iowans can get pseudoephedrine and how much they can buy daily or monthly. [continues 345 words]
DES MOINES - Iowa senators forged ahead Tuesday with legislation placing limits on the sale of a common cold remedy that is also a key methamphetamine ingredient. Supporters of the bill insist it strikes a delicate balance between public safety concerns and free enterprise. But that desire for compromise has put the Senate at odds with the House, which is considering tougher measures. In both chambers, lawmakers are taking aim at pseudoephedrine - a nasal decongestant found in dozens of cold and flu medications. It also is used to make meth in hundreds of secret, makeshift labs. [continues 785 words]
DES MOINES -- State lawmakers presented a plan Tuesday to Gov. Tom Vilsack that would clamp down on the sale of a cold medication used to make methamphetamine while stopping short of declaring it a controlled substance. Vilsack has urged lawmakers to make the medicine, pseudoephedrine, a Schedule V controlled substance that can be dispensed only by a pharmacist. Iowans would need to show ID and sign a logbook to buy any product containing the drug -- including countless over-the-counter cold remedies. [continues 343 words]
U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley and Gov. Tom Vilsack teamed up Monday to put the fight against drugs ahead of partisan politics. Grassley, Iowa's veteran Republican senator, and Vilsack, a Democrat, unveiled a slate of new initiatives intended to provide more education, information and support to Iowans fighting drug use. "This issue is not about politics at all, it's about helping Iowans live a drug-free life," Grassley said. The overall effort, called Face It Together, of FIT, includes training for members of the clergy, a workplace substance abuse education program and assistance to Iowa communities trying to form local anti-drug coalitions. "The fact is we have been fighting this war principally on the supply side through law enforcement. And we're having some degree of success," Vilsack said. "But to win this war we're going to have to fight it on the demand side." [end]
DES MOINES -- Swayed by arguments that it would fire up Iowa's farm economy but not its drug trade, a Senate panel has approved a bill that could make it legal to grow hemp for industrial purposes. "We talk about value-added agriculture a lot, and I think hemp fits into that very well," said Sen. Mark Zieman, R-Postville. Zieman's father, former Sen. Lyle Zieman, championed industrial hemp and his son has picked up the cause. Passage makes the bill available for Senate debate. [continues 325 words]
