LAW TARGETS 'ICE HOUSES'

A new law signed by Gov. Linda Lingle yesterday makes it easier for people
to report problems and get "ice houses" in their neighborhoods shut down, a
widely praised initiative in Hawai'i's battle against what many say is the
worst crystal methamphetamine problem in the country.

Lingle signed legislation aimed at reducing Hawai'i's crime rate by
targeting landlords and property owners who allow tenants to manufacture and
deal drugs. House Bill 297 allocates $100,000 to the attorney general's
office for the next two years for the creation of a special legal team that
will work to help rid communities of the places that sell illegal drugs.

The law, which takes effect July 1, gives the attorney general's office the
power to seek out drug houses and ask the owners and occupants to stop
illegal behavior. If they don't, property can be confiscated.

The new law will make it easier for people who live near drug houses to
complain and see action, said State Rep. Bob Herkes, D-5th (Ka'u, South
Kona), one of the bill's authors.

Interviews with constituents from the economically depressed sugar town of
Pahala, where drug-related crime is at an all-time high, is what convinced
Herkes the bill had value.

"Many of them were in tears as they talked about what ice has done to their
community," Herkes said. "So many of them have literally lost everything to
drugs."

Lingle said the law will help make the state safer, calling crystal meth, or
ice, "the root of theft, domestic violence and so many of the state's
problems." In signing the bill, she mentioned that Hawai'i has the worst
crystal meth problem in the country, a statement often repeated by
lawmakers, politicians, community activists and law enforcement officials.

According to a Department of Health survey, the state has the nation's
highest rate of adults who have tried ice, which can cause violent behavior,
psychotic tendencies and insomnia.

The fight against the ice epidemic has drawn widespread attention and
spurred whole communities into action. On May 2, residents from Kahalu'u to
Sunset Beach took to the street with anti-drug signs as part of their fight
to end the illegal drug epidemic that they say has ravaged families and
created crime in their community for more than two decades.

The new law will allow law enforcement officials to target drug
manufacturers and dealers through civil laws in a technical way that will
enable authorities to seize property, Lingle said.

Now citizens will be able to enlist the help of both police on the criminal
end and the attorney general's office on the civil side to solve drug
problems in the community, Herkes said.

Citizens, who might be afraid to call the police, can call the attorney
general's office to report drug problems in their communities.

The new legislation will make it more difficult for drug manufacturers and
dealers to slip through legal cracks, said Attorney General Mark Bennett.

The attorney general's office will dedicate a lawyer and one or two
investigators to its new legal team, Bennett said.