POLITICIANS, PUBLIC FOCUS ON 'ICE'

The war on the drug "ice" may have started in the 1980s, but it has become
the hottest topic in the summer of 2003.

That point became obvious this week when there were press conferences held
on consecutive days by lawmakers in both parties at the state Capitol to
discuss how to tackle the crystal methamphetamine epidemic, including the
formation of a bipartisan House-Senate committee to meet in the coming
months.

At a third press conference held Thursday, Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona
announced plans for a summit in September that will look at ice and other
drugs.

But it isn't just the politicians who have ramped up the fight. Communities
in Kahalu'u and Mililani have held sign-waving rallies in recent weeks.
Residents in Kailua, Hale'iwa, Wai'anae and 'Ewa have announced they will
have town hall meetings to address the ice problem in the coming days and
months, while Palolo residents are considering the same. The Waimanalo
community, meanwhile, has scheduled an upcoming sign-waving.

While the cynical observer might think that the surging furor by the elected
officials over the ice epidemic is politicians jumping on the bandwagon
during an otherwise largely uneventful summer, law enforcement officials
welcome the attention.

They also believe it can be attributable to a variety of factors that have
come together in recent months.

Ira Rohter, a political science professor at the University of
Hawai'i-Manoa, said it appears that the sudden rise of concern over crystal
meth use is sincere and positive.

"It's genuinely an epidemic and citizens are revolting," Rohter said.
"There's something really profound going on here. And maybe what's
noteworthy are people are taking steps to deal with it."

Politicians may be particularly keen to latch on to the issue because it is
not one that deeply divides the community, such as the debate over
reformation of the public school system, he said.

"Politically, how do you come down on the wrong side of this one?" he said.

Additionally, "there are solutions, it's not like it's hopeless, so it does
lend itself well to a government activity," Rohter said. "There are
occasions when good government and good politics come together."

Rohter, like others, also credited Aiona's passion for the issue as a major
factor, noting that he helped bring the Drug Court program to Hawai'i in
1995 and was its first judge after years of dealing with drug-related crimes
while on the bench. Fighting drug and alcohol addiction was a major platform
during Aiona's election campaign.

U.S. Attorney Ed Kubo said he began to notice the different stakeholders in
the fight against ice forming a unified front last November after a local
conference focusing on issues facing Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
"There was a blossoming of the realization of the toll that ice was starting
to take," Kubo said.

Other events have also galvanized the community, Kubo said, such as the
March shooting death of police officer Glen Gaspar by a man suspected of
being high on ice. There has also been an increasing amount of news coverage
on recent ice busts showing seizure of large quantities of the drug.

In addition, the community is becoming more aware that an increasing amount
of crimes, from bank robberies to child abuse, can be traced to drugs,
primarily crystal meth, Kubo said. "I see it in terms of every aspect, any
and every type of crime that you can see, or an upheaval of a family, is
either directly or indirectly related to drugs, and ice is the No. 1 drug
involved."

Keith Kamita, chief of the state's Narcotics Enforcement agreed. "What
you're seeing is the community has finally decided that they've had enough,"
he said. "We're seeing more and more community groups coming out, starting
to take notice of the damage that is being done to our society and our
children."

Kamita said authorities have stepped up their efforts with more cases, and
there is also now media awareness and attention to the war on ice.

Honolulu Police Capt. Kevin Lima of the Narcotics/Vice Division said it has
helped that law enforcement agencies are now working more cooperatively than
ever before on combating ice, a development largely because of the 1999
establishment of the Hawai'i chapter of the High Intensity Drug Trafficking
Area Program, also known as HIDTA. The umbrella group not only has unified
drug enforcement efforts but also armed the effort with federal dollars and
other resources.

"We worked together before, but they increased the amount of participation
and cooperation," Lima said. The coordinated efforts have allowed
authorities to go after "bigger players" and raise the profile of the fight.

Sidebar:

War Against 'Ice'

Here are some of the initiatives being proposed at the state Capitol this
week to address the war on crystal methamphetamine, better known as ice:

* Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona announced there will be a summit in September
with different stakeholders to discuss new legislation and other initiatives
to combat the ice epidemic. A series of "talk story" sessions statewide will
take place in anticipation of the summit scheduled for Sept. 17 and 18.

* House and Senate Democratic leaders announced a joint committee titled the
Committee on the Ice Crisis that will travel statewide and hold public
hearings soliciting ideas on dealing with crystal meth. The committee is
expected to come up with a package of deals in time for the next session of
the Legislature scheduled to begin in January.

* House Republicans, who were briefed at length by Narcotics Enforcement
Division chief Keith Kamita this week, said they will lobby for a package of
legislation to make it easier for law enforcement to deal with ice dealers
and manufacturers, including a loosening of search-and-seizure laws.