2014 Drug Trends in Iowa

In recent years, Iowa has started to see an increase in the number of drug and alcohol abuse cases that they are dealing with. In this article, we’re going to explore some of the most common problems that have been coming up in Iowa in 2014 and how they are starting to be approached and dealt with in a healthy way.

Women and Drugs

More than two-thirds of the women who are currently in women’s prisons in Iowa did not carry out violent crime and a lot of people are there for drug-related offenses. According to a number of sources, the war on drugs is not doing as it was intended to do. It is, instead, arresting small-time clients who carry out crimes to nourish their addictions. Two decades ago back, 2 percent of women in jail were there for drug-related offenses. That has soared to almost one-third of the women in jail, and it costs almost $30,000 per year to keep a woman in jail in the state.

Some people ask if Iowa should jump on the bandwagon for decriminalizing drugs, but honestly, this is just evidence of a deeper problem that is going on in the state. More and more women, whether because of the men that they are with or just because of their own troubles, are starting to get involved in drug use and abuse, and more of them are going to jail for it than ever before. It’s things like these that make it that much more important for good rehabilitation programs to be developed and implemented in states like Iowa.

Cocaine

Cocaine is another drug that has been seeing more use in Iowa, and it has been causing a lot of problems for the state in general. More and more people are getting thrown into jail for possessing and selling the drug, and cocaine is the drug that causes more deaths in Iowa than any other. Because of the way that it is processed, it becomes addictive even after only one time of using the drug. This is particularly frightening, because if someone gets just one hit of the drug, they are more likely to end up addicted to the drug than not, and it could start a long painful journey of addiction.

Cocaine is particularly dangerous because of some of the mixes of the drug that are currently out there. A lot of people don’t understand how dangerous it can be to get drugs, because if they are done incorrectly or they have something in them that is potentially poisonous. Bad mixes of cocaine result in a number of deaths yearly, and without getting the appropriate help, it will result in a number more as time goes on. Iowa has been working to try and address these concerns in a healthy and safe manner. The detoxification process for cocaine is difficult, but if someone is able to go through the process with an appropriate rehabilitation program, they will be more likely to come out of it and be better for it in the long run. Iowa is working toward making this the story of their state with cocaine addiction.

Non-Medical Marijuana

As you likely know, there are a lot of cases out there today that are talking about the benefits and uses of medical marijuana. But, with the advent of medical marijuana use also comes recreational marijuana use, which is of concern no matter what state you may currently reside in. It’s a large problem in Iowa currently because of some of the debates that have been going on and the ease of access of these drugs, especially in the more rural areas of the state where people are unable to be watched and regulated.

Recreational marijuana use has been under debate for years, and Iowa is just one of the battlegrounds that it happens to be going on with it. The most dangerous part of marijuana is that people don’t realize that it can be abused and you can become addicted to it. Even though you may not have physical withdrawal symptoms from the drug itself, you may find that it is difficult to break free of it because of the psychological issues that may occur by stopping the drug. This is one of the reasons that this has become such a large issue in Iowa and other states that are exploring the idea of legalizing the drug in their own states.