DES MOINES, Iowa — Weeks ago, Local 5 received a news tip from a public relations firm boasting drug overdose deaths decreased by 11% from 2021-22 in Iowa.
Local 5 took the firm's information and got in touch with the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services to compare those numbers with the state's statistics.
From 2021-22 there was a 1% jump in drug-related overdose deaths — not a decrease like the firm reported, according to statewide data.
Although 1% may seem minimal, the issue gets much worse when looking at numbers from 2018 to 2022.
The state reported a 58% increase in the number of deaths involving all drugs between that time period.
In terms of the number of deaths by sex, female overdose deaths rose by 54%, while male overdoses jumped by 61% in that time range. Overall, the number of male overdose deaths were about double that of females.
As for the number of deaths involving opioids in Iowa, the upward trends continued as it jumped by 58% from 2018 to 2022.
But when we narrowed the time frame from between the years 2021 and 2022, opioid overdose deaths decreased.
The Iowa state legislature passed a bill through both chambers back in the spring, which Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law in May to regulate controlled substances in an attempt to decrease overdose deaths.
The law states anyone involved in delivery or possession of fentanyl — a synthetic opioid — faces a "B" felony charge punishable up to 50 years in prison and up to a $1 million fine for more than 50 grams, which is about an ounce and a half.
Even someone with five grams or less can still be charged with a class "C" felony, punishable "by confinement for no more than 10 years and a fine of not less than $1,000 nor more than $50,000."
HHS told Local 5 the numbers for 2023 are not fully in since the year hasn't finished.