FAMILIES KNOW THE DEVASTATION OF 'ICE'

Kahalu'u -- Residents from Kahalu'u to Sunset Beach will declare today their
willingness to fight the illegal drugs that have ravaged families for more
than two decades.

They will take their signs and stand along Kamehameha Highway, reaching out
to others who know the pain and struggle of addiction, standing together
against the dealers and users, trying to make all the lives lost to drugs
count for something.

Keith Ryder of Kahalu'u will be among them. He knows what drugs can do to a
family.

Ryder's 36-year-old cousin had been clean for 12 years when he started using
"ice," or crystal methamphetamine, again. He committed suicide in March.
Another cousin died in 2002 in a drug-related suicide.

Still other relatives have been in and out of drug use and rehabilitation in
the grim cycle familiar to those with addictions. Some of the users even get
their drugs from other family members, he said.

"Trust, peace, security and sometimes even hope is lost when you're dealing
with an addict," said Ryder, 45. "You get to the point you're facing this
every day. The love is never lost, but your love is challenged."

About four months ago, while heading to a funeral in Kane'ohe, Ryder
witnessed a commotion on the side of the road. Police had pulled over a
vehicle and handcuffed the driver.

It was Ryder's brother. The car was stolen and filled with ice, Ryder said,
adding that his brother has a history of drug use.

"It broke my heart to see my brother on the side of the road," he said.

Ryder and his father tried to place the brother into treatment, knowing that
the courts view that as a positive sign. What was available was expensive,
but there was no room.

"In our quest to confront this issue on ice and drugs, part of the solution
is to find service providers," Ryder said. "Also we gotta deal with the
issue of how expensive it is."

Ryder, pastor of Light of Promise Ministries, is the organizer of today's
sign-waving, which residents hope will be a prelude to a wider effort that
includes cracking down on illegal activities, educating youths and expanding
rehabilitation programs and making them affordable.

U.S. Attorney Ed Kubo has pledged his help along with that of the Honolulu
Police Department, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau
of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in a three-prong approach to reduce drugs,
guns and habitual offenders.

The residents, in return, are doing their part, Kubo said.

"The public has been quite eager and aggressive in contacting us and
reporting the location where drug dealing may or may not be taking place,"
Kubo said, adding that he could not comment further.

All illegal drug use is being targeted, but the effort focuses largely on
crystal methamphetamine because of the rise in the use of the drug and its
devastating effects.

M.P. "Andy" Anderson, chief executive officer of Hina Mauka, a
rehabilitation agency, said 45 percent of its 2,000 clients a year seek help
because of ice.

"The numbers have been inching up every year," he said.

Methamphetamine users exhibit symptoms that can include violent behavior,
anxiety, confusion and insomnia. Meth users also can experience psychotic
tendencies, such as paranoia, auditory hallucinations and mood swings. The
paranoia can result in homicidal as well as suicidal thoughts.

Ryder said the cousin who committed suicide in March exhibited some of these
symptoms when he started using drugs again.

Ryder's aunt didn't want her name used because of fear of reprisals and to
protect her grandchildren from cruel comments.

But she said she used to follow her son at night, confronting dealers and
warning them about selling to him.

She said she watched her handsome, active son deteriorate to a virtual
skeleton. He become paranoid, moody and a thief to support his habit, she
said. He ended up in jail for violent behavior, but she said she never
stopped loving him and stuck by him even though she couldn't trust him.

In the end, the threat of going back to jail, problems with his girlfriend
and coming off the drug contributed to his death, she said.

Linda McIver of Sunset Beach nearly lost her 17-year-old son to an overdose
of ice and alcohol last month. Vomiting blood and with no feeling in his
legs after being assaulted, he was taken to the emergency room where tests
showed his blood alcohol level at .4 -- five times the legal limit -- and
crystal meth in his system, McIver said.

A doctor in the emergency room could not believe he lived, she said.

Since he started using drugs in seventh grade he has attempted suicide twice
and suffered two massive overdoses that required hospitalization, McIver
said.

He has been off and on drugs for nearly five years. The last time he started
using again, it took seven days for him to "crash and burn." In the process
he lost 20 pounds and his self-esteem, she said.

It has been painful to watch his deterioration, she said.

"My son has a heart of gold," McIver said. "He had perfect school attendance
for seven years, and when he was 10 years old he was rated fifth in the
nation by the National Scholastic Surfing Association."

When he entered seventh grade at Kahuku he got in with the wrong peer group,
she said. He was lost in the shuffle at the larger school and his
self-esteem began to plummet. McIver said she and her husband missed the
telltale signs and wanted to warn parents that seventh grade is a critical
year.

"He went from doing so well to crash and burn in the seventh grade" she
said, offering this advice to parents:

"Keep your eyes wide open when your child makes the transition from sixth to
seventh grade. Watch if there's a shift in peers because there's more peers
available to them. Watch your child's self-esteem. His was shot down."

McIver's son was sent to the Mainland yesterday with hopes that he will
improve as he did once before when he went there. Only two places treat
young addicts in Hawai'i. She said neither was suitable for ice users, plus
the waiting list is extremely long.

McIver has formed a support group in Sunset Beach and she, too, will be out
holding a sign today on Kamehameha Highway.

Sidebar:

At a glance:

SIGN WAVING

When: Today
Time: 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Where: Kamehameha Highway, from Kahalu'u to Sunset Beach

TOWN-HALL MEETING ON DRUGS

When: Thursday
Time: 7 to 9 p.m.
Where: KEY Project, 47-200 Waihe'e Road, Kahalu'u