Move over cocaine, there’s something meatier. Methamphetamines are fast becoming Story County’s most popular illegal drugs, local authorities said.

“In the last three months the Story County Drug Task Force has been very busy. Methamphetamines are the drug of choice. That and marijuana,” Drug Task Force Coordinator John Tinker said.

According to Drug Task Force records, about 12,500 grams of marijuana and about 900 grams of methamphetamines have been seized in drug busts, compared to about 300 grams of cocaine ceased last year.

Methamphetamines are similar to cocaine, said Shawn Phipps, special investigations officer with the Ames Police Department.

There are several explanations why methamphetamines have become so popular. Easy access to the drug sits at the top of the list.

“The reason it’s so popular is because methamphetimines do not need to be smuggled into the U.S. like its counter-part cocaine. It costs the same with similar effects and it can be made virtually in peoples’ houses,” Phipps said.

There is not a specific recipe for making the drug.

“Most amphetamines are available over the counter and then people mix it with other chemicals, none of which you would want in your system,” Tinker said.

Police declined to reveal the type of chemicals used to make methamphetamines, saying they don’t want people trying to make their own drugs.

“Most of the chemicals that go into it are illegal to obtain,” Phipps said. “They are powerful chemicals and quite dangerous.”

The street cost of methamphetamines is about $100 per gram. With larger quantities, the price goes down, Phipps said.

Tinker said the methamphetamines problem is not endemic to Story County.

“We are involved in the closing methamphamine labs, but most come from out of state,” he said.

“A lot of methamphetamines are manufactured in the west part of the country as well as the south and transported to the Midwest where the supply is shorter, therefore making it an attractive market,” Phipps added. “Kind of like the supply and demand theory.”

Most methamphetamine convictions come from the Drug Task Force, which is made up of officers from the Ames and Nevada Police Departments, the Story County Sheriff’s Office and the Iowa State Department of Public Safety.

The task force declined to explain the tactics used to apprehend drug dealers, but it relies a lot on citizens that know people using drugs, Tinker said. He said those worried about drug users supply the task force with information with the hope that the user will kick the habit.

“We are very receptive and will protect anyone’s identity. We can do a lot when we have the information,” Tinker added.

Most of those charged with possession of a controlled substance are non-ISU students. In the last year, about a half-dozen charged were students, Tinker said.

Ames is a smaller community, so the drug problem is not as prominent as it is in bigger cities.

“Our numbers aren’t as high, but we get fallout from Des Moines,” Tinker said.

Phipps said one of the newer weapons used to combat the drug problem is the Drug Tax Stamp.

The stamp must be purchased at the Department of Revenue in Des Moines to transport substances. Minimum purchase is $215, but prices range up to $4000, depending on the amount.

The stamps can be purchased confidentially, and just because you have them in your possession doesn’t mean you’re a dealer. But since most people don’t purchase the stamps, additional charges can be filed if they are caught with the intent to deliver a controlled substance, a Class D felony, Phipps said. Class D felonies carry a maximum five years in jail or a $7,500 fine.

Phipps said methamphetamines represent a serious danger to users. She said the drugs could be laced with two chemicals that are not meant to coexist and have dangerous side effects.