CONCERTED EFFORT NEEDED TO FIGHT 'ICE'

For any parent, the fear of their child getting involved with drugs is
great, and the reality overwhelming. All of your hopes and aspirations
vanish, as you try to cope, and "fix" the problem, amid pangs of guilt that
as a parent you had somehow failed along the way.

Last August, I received a sobering briefing from retiring Big Island Police
Chief James Correa and Mayor Harry Kim about the rising crystal meth or
"ice" problem in their county. I asked for the meeting after learning about
community meetings where residents came together throughout the island to
talk about the devastating impact of crystal meth on their families. This
drug knows no class boundaries -- it affects rich and poor, educated and
illiterate. I was saddened by what I learned.

Ice is a highly addictive drug in the amphetamine family. It was exported
from Asia to the United States through Hawai'i. Because meth produces a
very long-lasting high, and is both inexpensive and highly addictive, its
use became widespread in a short time. From 1998 to 2000, there has been a
five-fold increase in the number of ice-related arrests on the Big Island--
from 58 in 1998 to more than 300 in 2000. During the same period, cocaine
and heroin arrests remained flat. At present, nearly 1,500 Big Island
children are under court supervision or in the custody of Child Protective
Services. Eighty-five percent of these children are meth-related cases,
having been abandoned, abused or neglected by addicted parents -- or are
addicted themselves.

At that moment, I committed myself to be a part of the solution in stemming
the tide of ice that is threatening to freeze out a sizable number of our
next generation. What I learned from my preliminary research is that there
is no silver bullet, no easy answer. It is not only about additional law
enforcement resources, increased rehabilitation services or better
education, prevention and alternative activities in the schools. It is all
of the above, working together.

This is the very strategy that will be used at the upcoming Crystal Meth
Summit on Tuesday in Waikoloa. This is the fourth such summit to be held
nationally, and it will be sponsored by the Drug Enforcement Administration
and the National Crime Prevention Council. I am very pleased that the head
of the DEA, Asa Hutchinson, will join me, Kim and acting Police Chief
Lawrence Mahuna in opening the summit and signaling the summit's importance
as a national model.

The plan is quite simple. About 300 stakeholders representing all facets of
society -- educators, law enforcement, nurses, parents, emergency-room
personnel, healthcare providers, cultural practitioners, media, the faith
community, federal, state and county government officials, and community
leaders -- getting together for a full day of identifying solutions and
barriers to achieving success, followed by recommending actions, both
short- and long-term. Post summit, a steering group will be established to
follow through on the list of action steps.

Resources, whether financial, technical expertise, or sweat equity, will
all need to be put on the table and committed as integrated solutions are
devised. For me, I am committed to priming the pump, having already secured
the financing for a new drug enforcement lab for the Big Island police
department and a substance-abuse grant to be managed as a partnership by
the Bay Clinic. I am also in the process of setting aside Department of
Justice money to support the implementation of some of the key
recommendations that will come from the summit. However, I also know that
to be successful, the solutions must come from the communities, and in the
long term, maintained in some way by the county.

It is not only about money. It is also about innovation and commitment. It
is about increasing federal law enforcement presence and setting up a Drug
Court, while at the same time, providing sufficient rehabilitation services
on the island to allow families to support the healing process. It is also
about providing our young people with alternative activities and options,
including access (whether through a bus system or technology) to a more
hopeful future path.

The interest and positive response to the summit has been overwhelming. It
would be fair to say that we are "sold out." That is most heartening. It
demonstrates a desire for people from all walks of life to come together
asa community and a county to work toward a comprehensive response to the
ice epidemic. This could very well provide the architecture of a solution
for the other counties and the state as a whole.

Stay tuned as the Big Island comes together for an ice meltdown. I am very
hopeful that it will warm our hearts and propel us collectively into action.