ADDITIVE RENDERS ANHYDROUS AMMONIA USELESS TO METH COOKS

DES MOINES -- Iowa 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 known as anhydrous ammonia that renders it useless to meth
makers who might 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 held on the steps of
the 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 the fertilizer 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 calcium nitrate additive as well as "Stop Meth" signs
they can place on their anhydrous tanks.

Vilsack said the latest discovery, which will not 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 meth.

That has reduced the number of illegal meth labs shut down by law
enforcement in Iowa by a dramatic 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
putting 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," he said.

Despite those weapons against meth manufacture, the state has a long
way to go in the fight against a drug that breaks up families, Harkin added.

"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," he said.

Close to 90 percent of the meth found in Iowa is brought in from out
of state rather than manufactured here, said Marvin Van Haaftan,
director of the Governor's Office of Drug Control Policy.

But he said the restrictions on anhydrous ammonia and pseudoephedrine
help ease concern among Iowans that amateur meth makers could cause
an explosion in apartment buildings or expose children to the dangerous fumes.

Instead of using anhydrous ammonia, meth makers could use red
phosphorous, although it is a more complicated process and less
common, Van Haaftan said.

"Our cooks in Iowa love the anhydrous meth. It's quick and easy, and
it's potent," he added.