IT'S TIME TO ACT ON ICE NOW

Calling the Hawai'i Drug Control Strategy Summit a success would be an
understatement. The state of Hawai'i, to my recollection, has never had a more
comprehensive examination of our current drug problem. Kudos to everyone who
participated and contributed to proposed recommendations.

The ice epidemic has continued to fester over the years despite the outstanding
efforts of law enforcement, the judiciary, corrections and the myriad of
treatment and prevention programs. But there have been many successes.
Excellent examples of successful educational programs are the Drug Abuse
Resistance Education and Gang Resistance, Education and Training currently
being taught in our public and private schools by police officers throughout
the state and their military counterparts.

Additionally our judiciary has implemented the Drug Court program, which allows
an individual the opportunity to be rehabilitated and once again become a
productive member of society. Moreover, effective treatment programs are also
present in our corrections system.

This begs the question: If we are arresting, prosecuting, incarcerating,
treating and rehabilitating drug offenders, why are we still confronted with
this problem year after year, decade after decade?

The 11 proposed recommendations by participants of the drug summit allow the
state to take a huge step forward to stop the loss of an entire generation, as
U.S. Attorney Ed Kubo so eloquently stated. Hawai'i can and must be the "best
practices" model for the rest of the nation. We, as a caring community, can no
longer look the other way and expect the criminal justice system to be totally
responsible for what really is a law enforcement, health and community problem.

President Bush strongly believes in treatment and recovery of addicts and had
proclaimed September National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month. Bush
emphasized, "Addiction to alcohol or drugs destroys family ties, friendship,
ambition and moral conviction, and reduces the richness of life to a single
destructive desire."

With that sweeping statement, Bush proposed a new initiative called Access to
Recovery with a budget of $600 million over the next three years. The state
should follow Bush's lead in allocating more resources for treatment, education
and prevention, with a strong emphasis on after-care programs.

This state will continue to face fiscal restraints in many areas; however, if
the drug summit is not to fall into the flavor-of-the-month category, we
absolutely must move forward with these recommendations. There should be no
hesitation, what-ifs or buts. Our children and their children deserve nothing
less from us. We have procrastinated long enough; the time for action is now.

Throughout my years of service in law enforcement, I truly felt the key to
stopping the cycle of drug abuse is treatment and, more importantly, after-care
programs that prevent relapse and minimize the opportunity to re-offend.
Individuals who are treated must not return to the environment that encourages
drug use; they also need to be employed to rebuild a sense of pride, connection
and ownership with the communities that support them.

Every community has different and unique needs. The leaders of these
communities must continue to step up to the plate and convince policymakers,
and those who control the purse strings, to support and implement effective
anti-drug and treatment programs. Collaboration among public and private
sectors and federal, state and local entities is the key to community
empowerment.