BIG ISLAND ALARMED BY SPREAD OF 'ICE'

WAIKOLOA, Hawai'i -- With an alarming rise in crystal methamphetamine
arrests and a host of related ills, the Big Island was a likely choice as
host of yesterday's "Ice Summit," which brought together high-level federal,
state and county officials and other community members to discuss what can
be done about the problem.

Event coordinator Billy Kanoi, a former Honolulu public defender who was
hired by Big Island Mayor Harry Kim to lead the county's attack on the
highly addictive drug commonly known as ice, told the standing-room-only
gathering of 300 at the Outrigger Waikoloa Resort that he wanted to help
save a generation of children from "the worst drug plague" to hit the
Islands.

Charts presented by several speakers yesterday spoke a similar message: The
Big Island leads the state in ice trafficking and use.

Kim said crystal methamphetamine has led many Big Islanders to squander the
legacy and sacrifices of generations of immigrants who labored for a better
future for their children and grandchildren.

Acting Police Chief Lawrence Mahuna gave figures showing a 10-fold increase
in crystal methamphetamine arrests on the Big Island from 1998 to 2000 --
from 28 to 282. The drug's reach extends even to middle schools, he said.

"The collateral crimes of burglary, robbery and theft" also are increasing,
Mahuna said.

Asa Hutchinson, a former Arkansas congressman who heads the federal Drug
Enforcement Administration, said ice has become a "No. 1 drug problem in
rural America," largely because it is cheap and easily produced in home labs
using over-the-counter medications and readily available ingredients.

Officials said much of the ice used in Hawai'i comes from Mexico via Las
Vegas or Los Angeles.

U.S. Sen. Dan Inouye said in his remarks that he was amazed to learn that
300 who had wanted to attend the summit had been turned away because of
space limitations.

Also present was Dr. Wesley Clark, director of the National Center for
Substance Abuse Treatment. The former San Francisco physician said treatment
is an important part of the solution.

"We can't arrest our way out of this problem," Clark said, urging Big
Islanders to acknowledge the crisis and support prevention and treatment
programs. One way to do that, he said, is to accept drug treatment centers
proposed in their neighborhoods.

He said he had learned on a visit to Hilo of a lack of resources for those
seeking treatment, including transportation and treatment centers.

"Even literacy is a part of this problem," Clark said.

He called yesterday's summit, one of four to be held nationally, "a required
wakeup call."

Clark said he was inspired by the broad-based participation in the summit,
which brought together nearly every judge on the island, prosecutors and
defense attorneys, educators and social workers.

During lunch, a South Kohala carpenter told reporters of his five-year
struggle as a recovering ice user and how his addiction tore his family
apart.

"There is life after ice," said George Roldan, who leads a support group
called Waimea Men in Recovery, who meet weekly to help one another stay
drug-free and "to begin paying back to our community."

Clark said it was important for people to come forward and share their
successes, so others addicted to crystal methamphetamine will see there's a
way out.

The Ice Summit will be followed by 18 months of work preparing a list of
priorities based on yesterday's sessions and developing a plan of action.