With an increased use of illegal drugs in Iowa, law enforcement officials said they have stepped up efforts to combat the use and sale of the state’s most common illegal drugs.

The number of drug arrests in Iowa has risen, from 7,022 in 1995 to 10,119 in 1999.

Howard Schneider, officer on the Ames Drug Task Force, said Ames has its fair share of the drug market, but the trafficking is discreet, rather than right on the street corner.

“You name it, we got it,” he said.

According to the Iowa Department of Public Safety’s Web site, marijuana is the most widely used illegal drug in Iowa, with 6,776 offenses in 1999. The second highest is methamphetamines, with 1,403 offenses. Cocaine registers at a close third, with 942 offenses.

John Tinker, Department of Public Safety program director, said the number of drug arrests in the state are up mainly “because of increased meth use.”

He said DPS is combating meth with aggressive enforcement and the assistance of local merchants for leads on purchases of ingredients used to manufacture the drug.

Matt Delisi, assistant professor of psychology, said meth has become popular in Iowa for two reasons.

“One is its location geographically. We are on the way to Chicago, putting Iowa in the path of drug trafficking operations,” he said. “Also, the farm economy. Some of the by-products of the farm economy are the underlying ingredients of meth.”

Delisi said Iowa’s rural criminal justice departments are understaffed and under-funded, making it easier for dealers to get away with making and selling the drug.

Tinker said there has been a possible increase in the use of LSD as well, noting a recent undercover operation which confiscated about 5,000 hits.

Eugene Deisinger, DPS program manager, said people get involved with drugs for a variety of reasons.

“Some people have a biological predisposition to become substance-dependent,” he said. “Drugs can be used as a coping mechanism, also social mechanisms, and some users get involved on an exploratory basis.”