UPDATE: Marijuana and abuse of prescription drugs rose in Iowa, while the number of meth labs and alcohol-related offenses declined, according to the 2013 Iowa Drug Control Strategy report released Thursday.

Sixty-two Iowans died of drug-related overdoses involving prescription pain relievers last year, according to the report. That’s 59 percent higher than in 2010. The report also found 29 drug-related traffic fatalities in 2011, the highest in five years.

Other highlights include:

• Methamphetamine labs in Iowa are on pace to reach 340 for the current calendar year, down from 412 in 2011, and about 77 percent below the record of 1,500 in 2004.
• Alcohol-related motor vehicle fatalities in Iowa dropped to 64 last year, down from 73 in 2010, to the lowest level in at least 18 years. At the same time, criminal convictions for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated declined for the fourth straight year in 2011.
• According to the report, marijuana manufacturing, distribution and use appear to be rising. Law enforcement officials report an increase in marijuana plants seized this year (5,813 so far in FY13 vs. 2,003 in FY12), reflecting larger marijuana growing operations.

“This report provides further evidence that while Iowa may have one of the nation’s lowest rates of drug abuse, including prescription drug abuse, the misuse of medicine is our state’s fastest growing form of substance abuse, affecting an increasing number of Iowans,” Steve Lukan, director of the Office of Drug Control and Prevention, said in a written statement released with the report. “A record number of prescription pain-reliever overdose deaths, an increase in drug-related traffic fatalities and rising substance abuse treatment admissions demonstrate a growing need to promote the safe use of medicine while preventing its abuse.”

Read the full report at http://www.iowa.gov/odcp/