Iowa and our drug problem

Today's post concerns gangs and drugs. The availability of these drugs is kind of scary to an old fart like me. I have included links to the websites I aquired the information from.

The following are all excerpts from websites. The first one is from the Schaffer Library of Drug Policy website-

Printed in the DM Register Dec., 14, 1997
Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Ia., head of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control, said it was "absolutely critical" to pressure Mexico to clean up its side of the border.
In Des Moines, Polk County District Associate Judge Carol Egly has noticed in the past four years an increase in the number of drug users. "We're getting many that are totally whacked out and crazy," she said.
She also has seen a growing number of Mexican nationals appearing on drug-pushing charges in her courtroom, unable to speak English or understand the charges against them. And yet, she said, they realize that even if they go to prison and then are deported to Mexico, it will not keep them from returning.
"Why Des Moines? Why Iowa?" Egly asks herself. "I still don't know the answer."


From the DEA Production and Trafficking webpage-

Regional Trafficking Trends-

Areas of the upper Midwest have been hard hit by the spiraling growth of methamphetamine trafficking and use. In Iowa, methamphetamine is cited as a contributing factor in an estimated 80 percent of domestic violence cases, and as a major reason behind violent crime. The user population consists primarily of young white adults from lower-middle income families. Many start by snorting methamphetamine and progress to injecting. In one year, from 1993 to 1994, methamphetamine seizures rose 4,000 percent in the city of Des Moines. Methamphetamine cases now account for 80 percent of the police department's drug investigations. Most of the methamphetamine available in the upper Midwest is trafficked by Mexican-controlled criminal organizations - connected to sources of supply in California and Mexico - that are based in smaller Midwestern cities with existing Mexican-American populations. Smuggling routes into the region incorporate a variety of transportation means, but the profit is a constant: a pound of methamphetamine purchased in California for $5,000 sells for as much as $16,000 in Iowa.


From the DEA Iowa website-

Drug Situation: Methamphetamine, both that which is produced in Mexico or the southwest United States and locally produced, remains the principal drug of concern in the state of Iowa. Cocaine, particularly crack cocaine, is a significant problem in the urban areas of the state. Iowa also serves as a transshipment point for drugs being transported to the eastern United States via Interstate 80. Interstates 29 and 35 also provide a critical north-south transportation avenue for drug traffickers. Northwestern Iowa is reporting a significant increase in the availability of crack cocaine in their area. The cocaine is believed to come from sources of supply who transport the cocaine through the Kansas City area on the way to Iowa.

Cocaine is readily available throughout Iowa. Cocaine availability in the Des Moines area remains stable after past increases. There has been a significant increase in the availability of crack cocaine in the Sioux City area of northwestern Iowa. Transportation of cocaine is primarily via mail services, personal vehicles, and buses from sources on the west coast and the southwest border. 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 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. In eastern Iowa, distribution is controlled primarily by Chicago-based street gangs, such as the Latin Kings ,Gangster Disciples, and Vice Lords, who have set up operations in the area. The availability of crack in Des Moines continues to be stable. Gang affiliates from Los Angeles, California; Detroit, Michigan; and Chicago, Illinois control the crack market in Des Moines.

Mexican heroin is sporadically available in retail-level quantities throughout the urban areas of Iowa. Most of the heroin seizures are of the black-tar type, but intelligence from Des Moines and Cedar Rapids also indicates the presence of white and Mexican brown powder heroin. Both black-tar and white heroin are found here. There is a growing heroin problem in Eastern Iowa as evidenced by heroin overdoses.

Methamphetamine is the principal drug of concern in all parts of Iowa. All racial and ethnic groups abuse the drug. Hispanic trafficking organizations import large quantities of methamphetamine into Iowa, primarily via motor vehicles and mail delivery services. The large Mexican communities in Iowa provide an infrastructure to import and distribute the methamphetamine. Despite some abatement through State regulations placed on precursor chemicals, local small toxic laboratories continue to be a significant problem throughout Iowa. Most of the laboratories use the Birch method and produce only ounce quantities at a time. Law enforcement agencies throughout the state expend a large number of man-hours to combat the problem. Law enforcement reports that high purity crystal methamphetamine, or ice, is available in Northwest Iowa. The distribution organizations are selling the drug in the local market for $14,000-$16,000 per pound.

The state of Iowa continues to see the abuse of “club drugs” such as MDMA and GHB. MDMA (ecstasy) continues to be encountered at rave parties in eastern, south central and central Iowa. There is also intelligence indicating the trafficking of MDMA by Asian trafficking organizations in the state. Most of the MDMA in eastern Iowa is said to come from sources in California, New York, Spain, and the Netherlands. The organizations are believed to transport the MDMA via package services.