The Iowa Office of Drug Control Policy, the Drug Policy Advisory Council, and the state Departments of Corrections; Education; Human Rights, Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning; Human Services; Public Health; and Public Safety collaborated to create this plan for coordinated treatment, prevention, and enforcement actions to combat substance abuse.

From the executive summary:

The newest, and fastest growing, form of substance abuse by Iowans involves prescription and over-the-counter medicines. Teenagers tend to view these drugs as ―safe,‖ and many parents are not yet aware of their potential for abuse. Stories of teens sharing pills to get high are increasingly common in Iowa communities. According to the Iowa Department of Public Safety, Division of Narcotics Enforcement (DNE), the number of pharmaceutical cases opened in 2008 was 243% higher than the number of cases opened in 2007. The number of dosage units of pharmaceuticals seized by DNE in 2008 increased 412% from the total seized in 2007. Similarly, treatment centers anecdotally report a dramatic increase in prescription drug abuse clients. Pain killers (e.g., hydrocodone and oxycodone) seem to be the favorite targets of thieves who steal from medicine cabinets and pharmacies. Public calls to the Statewide Poison Control Center to identify hydrocodone and oxycodone pain pills have skyrocketed 1,225% since 2002, and officials with the center believe some of that increase signifies the growing diversion and abuse of prescription drugs in Iowa.

Full report: Iowa's Drug Control Strategy 2010 (PDF | 1.44 MB)

Coordinated State Government Agencies and Iowa Drug Policy Advisory Council. (2009). Iowa's drug control strategy 2010.