Coalition plans tour to combat drug abuse

DES MOINES - An anti-drug coalition in Iowa is planning an outreach program of community meetings to help raise the awareness to drug abuse.

Peter Komendowski, president of the Partnership for Drug Free Iowa, said a series of listening posts aim to inspire communities to meet the threat of substance abuse - and the opioid epidemic in particular. Komendowski's group will work with the Governor's Office of Drug Control Policy, the Iowa National Guard, Iowa's U.S. attorneys and officials in non-profit and faith-based organizations.

'We're fighting on the front line of a problem,” said Komendowski, who noted that information gathered at the listening posts will help define Iowa's priorities and shape drug control strategies.

No time frame as been set for meetings planned in Des Moines, Knoxville, Clinton, Davenport, Sioux City, Mason City, Council Bluffs, Ames, Dubuque, Cedar Rapids, Ottumwa, Marshalltown, Fort Dodge and the Cedar Falls/Waterloo and Iowa City/Coralville areas, he said. More locations will be added next year. Communities interested in hosting a listening post should contact the partnership at DrugFreeIowa.org, he said.

A major focus of the outreach effort will be protecting children from high-risk behaviors related to prescription drugs, synthetic opioids, heroin and a resurgence in meth addictions, Komendowski said.

'We saw over 30,000 casualties from opioids and heroin in America last year. That's an area of casualties on par with a war,” he said. 'It's just insurmountable how the scale of abuse has reached so many homes and so many families.”

Kevin Techau, U.S. attorney for Iowa's northern district, said meth-related crimes remain the top area of criminal prosecutions in Iowa. But a troubling surge of problems associated with prescription opioids and heroin has emerged, he said.

'There's been a tipping point, if you will,” Techau said. 'For a long time, the No. 1 cause of death for those above 20 in the United States was traffic crashes. In the last couple years, drug overdoses have overtaken that, and the heroin/opioid situation has taken a huge toll in that category.” About 15,000 deaths nationwide are attributed to drug overdoses. Among heroin addicts, 3 in 4 got started with prescription drugs or opioid painkillers, he added.

'One of the features of those who are in the throes of addiction to opioid is it is like a moth to a flame. They seek the biggest high and they don't know what they're getting into,” said Techau, who cited criminal convictions in Iowa. The community meetings are vital, he said, because 'we know we can't prosecute our way out of this problem. It's a public health crisis.”

Steve Lukan, director of the Office of Drug Control Policy, said amid the challenges, successes have been seen in a trend of fewer Iowans going to prison for drug convictions and more receiving treatment.