ICE PRODUCTION, USE DROPPING IN HAWAII

State and federal officials yesterday cited several trends that they
say indicate a reduction of crystal methamphetamine activity in Hawai'i.

According to statistics from the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area
program, the number of meth labs discovered in the state decreased
from 17 in 2005 to two this year, Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona announced.

He attributed the decrease largely to recent laws that make it more
difficult for people to purchase large quantities of pseudoephedrine,
an active ingredient in home-based meth production.

Yesterday's announcement from officials, which coincided with the end
of October as Crime Prevention Month, is in stark contrast to five
years ago, when U.S. Attorney Ed Kubo declared that Hawai'i had the
worst crystal meth problem in the country.

Kubo said yesterday Hawai'i no longer holds that distinction. Instead,
Oregon is considered the state with the worst crystal meth problem, as
of last year, Kubo said.

Crystal methamphetamine, also known as "batu" and "ice," is thought to
be more addictive than cocaine and harder to kick than heroin. It is
known to cause irreversible brain damage and can make users psychotic,
paranoid, schizophrenic and violent.

Kubo said he believes the state's effort to reduce the meth problem
through aggressively pursuing drug traffickers and meth labs is working.

Meth use in the workplace has also dropped, according to statistics
gathered for the state by Diagnostic Laboratory Services, the state's
largest drug testing company. In the third quarter of 2007, workplace
meth use declined by 25 percent.

Officials also said there are fewer people in drug treatment centers
who identify "ice" as their drug of choice.

According to figures from the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division of the
state Department of Health, 48.2 percent of adults in treatment
centers identified meth as their drug of choice compared with 50.2
percent in 2004.

Aiona said there has been a "significant reduction" in property crimes
over the past several years. For example, from 2005 to 2006, property
crimes dropped by 12 percent, he said. And over the past 10 years,
there has been a 24.5 percent drop in property crimes, he said.

"Many experts will tell you that property crimes are linked to drug
use; thus, we are very excited about this reduction," Aiona said.

Meanwhile, Kubo announced that the 'Ewa Weed and Seed program was
recognized as the National Crime Prevention Award of the Year. The
program was one of six out of 58 nominees nationwide to receive the
award, he said.

Weed and Seed is a U.S. Department of Justice program designed to
clean up crime in neighborhoods and increase community involvement
through citizen patrols and other efforts. 'Ewa became a Weed and Seed
site in 2002.