Sioux City Journal, IA
10-10-06
New tool unveiled to fight meth
Fertilizer additive makes it useless to meth cookers
By Charlotte Eby Journal Des Moines Bureau
DES MOINES -- Gov. Tom Vilsack has a message for people who want to
manufacture the illegal drug methamphetamine -- don't bother.
Vilsack and other public officials unveiled a new additive to the fertilizer
anhydrous ammonia that renders it useless to meth-makers who would steal it
from farms and use it to cook the illegal drug.
"It is an important day for safer communities and safer children in our state,"
Vilsack said at a news conference on the steps of the State Capitol with a tank of
anhydrous ammonia as a backdrop.
Retailers expect the practice of injecting calcium nitrate into anhydrous ammonia
tanks will gain wide acceptance. Vilsack said the discovery will reduce the theft of
anhydrous ammonia and cut the amount of meth produced in the state.
Iowa State University researchers George Kraus and John Verkade, both
chemistry professors, tried dozens of combinations before finding that calcium
nitrate was effective.
"We were investigating a whole raft of compounds, and finally we ended up
taking what's called the 'Edisonian' approach: you try everything you can to make
the light bulb light," Verkade said.
Ag retailers who participate in the voluntary program will receive a supply of the
additive calcium nitrate, as well as "Stop Meth" signs they can place on their
anhydrous tanks.
Vilsack said the latest discovery, which won't harm farm equipment or the
environment, will help keep Iowa at the forefront of dealing with the meth issue.
The state already has put in place restrictions on the sale of pseudoephedrine, a
common ingredient in cold medicine that is the key component in the
manufacture of methamphetamine.
That has reduced the number of illegal meth labs shut down by law enforcement
in Iowa by 77 percent.
U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, along with other members of Iowa's
congressional delegation, helped secure more than $1 million for research into
the ammonia additive. Harkin said it provides a creative solution to the problem
that is easier than locks on anhydrous ammonia tanks.
"You can do one or the other, and I guess if you really want to be safe, you can
do them both," Harkin said.
Despite those weapons against meth making, the state has a long way to go in
the fight against a drug that breaks up families, Harkin said.
"We all know how bad it is, the enormous strain it is putting on our local law
enforcement resources, and putting them at great risk. So we have to continue to
find ways to stop the meth from coming into the state," Harkin said.
Close to 90 percent of the meth found in Iowa i