ANTI-DRUG PROGRAMS GET PUSH AT CAPITOL

Experts Say Addicts Need Treatment, Not More Prisons

Plans to expand Hawaii's drug treatment programs are gaining political
momentum at the Capitol, with legislators and Gov. Ben Cayetano agreeing on
the need to spend more money to help the thousands of people addicted to
drugs.

The momentum is marked by a shift in emphasis at the Capitol, where
discussions about crime previously have focused almost exclusively on the
need for more prison space. Now, there is an acknowledgement that drug
treatment also is a pressing need.

And although the state's lagging economy has diverted attention from human
services programs in recent years, drug treatment has emerged this session
as a prime social issue for both Democrats and Republicans.

"The issue is ripe, and the opportunity is there to begin the process,"
said House Health Committee Chairman Alex Santiago (D-Waialua, Kahuku).

Although many legislators and others are optimistic that efforts for drug
treatment will be successful this year, they acknowledge that they are
taking small steps in addressing a problem that extends far beyond the
criminal justice system.

A Senate bill passed by its Ways and Means Committee would raise at least
$7 million for drug treatment.

However, state health officials say they need $81.8 million to treat about
15,000 Hawaii residents with drug addiction. And those are only the people
who are willing to seek treatment but cannot afford it, said Elaine Wilson,
chief of the state Department of Health's Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division.

Wilson said about 82,000 adults and more than 16,000 students in grades six
through 12 need some form of substance abuse treatment.

"I think the short answer is: step by step," said Senate Judiciary
Committee Co-Chairman Matt Matsunaga (D-Waialae, Palolo). "We're doing what
we can now with the limited resources we have and, hopefully, in the future
we can do more."

Shift In Philosophy

Some drug treatment advocates, however, are simply pleased that the
governor and legislators are paying more attention to the issue. They
believe there is finally a shift in philosophy, framing drug addiction as a
public health issue rather than simply a crime issue.

"I really, really am delighted to see that, and I think that we're finally
starting to make some headway and have a recognition of the need for
treatment," said M.P. "Andy" Anderson, chief executive officer of the Hina
Mauka drug treatment program.

Many legislators and others attribute the momentum behind drug treatment
largely to the discussions about a new prison and the overcrowding of
inmates. They also say high-profile cases involving the sale and
distribution of crystal methamphetamine - known as "ice" - have heightened
the public’s awareness of the problem.

"I think at least part of the impetus came from the proposal to build a new
prison and why was there overcrowding and the recognition that so many of
these inmates were in there for drug offenses or offenses that were drug
induced," said Senate Ways and Means Committee Co-Chairman Andy Levin
(D-Ka'u, Kona).

About 85 percent of the roughly 4,800 prison inmates in Hawaii have a
history of substance abuse, said state Department of Public Safety Director
Ted Sakai. The prison system has 247 intensive-care drug treatment beds and
464 short-term treatment slots for inmates, he said.

Sakai said more than 500 people who were on supervised release, probation
or parole were returned to prison last year because they tested positive
for drugs.

"There are a lot of concerns about the economic impacts of housing people
who are basically substance abusing and are in need of treatment," Santiago
said. "It's not new, it's just that all of a sudden people realize that you
take these people and lock them up, and they go back out and they get
locked up again, and they go out again. They need treatment for their
substance abuse problems, and now people are beginning to go, oh, maybe we
should focus on that."

Studies Show Some Success

Wilson said a six-month follow-up study on 832 adults who completed
substance abuse treatment last year showed that 83 percent of them were not
rearrested, and almost 80 percent did not use drugs or alcohol. A high
percentage also had stable living arrangements.

Cayetano agreed that the push for drug treatment has grown this year.

"I think that it's becoming more and more obvious to us," he said. "It's
pretty clear that law enforcement can't do it all anymore. Even our police
said they can't do it themselves. So we need to deal with rehabilitation
and prevention, and the prison (programs) is an area we're going to
concentrate on."

Cayetano had proposed raising alcohol and tobacco taxes to pay for drug
treatment for criminal offenders. Some legislators also proposed raising
those taxes for treatment, but the Senate bill approved Friday eliminated
that provision.

The bill, which now needs approval from the full Senate before going to the
House, instead takes 10 percent of the existing liquor and tobacco taxes,
an estimated $7.5 million. The bill also would take 25 percent of the money
the state expects to receive from a settlement with tobacco manufacturers.

The scope of Hawaii's drug problems was made clear in a series of cases
involving such public figures as attorney Gary Modafferi, former state Sen.
Milton Holt and the late musician Bryant "Mackey" Feary Jr.

Feary's suicide in prison in February 1999 was a wake-up call to Hawaii
residents for more drug treatment in prison, said his younger sister,
Alison Lopez. She said Feary repeatedly and unsuccessfully committed
himself to drug treatment facilities but that there was no long-term
treatment available for him.

"I think with it happening to someone who was a musician like Mackey, it
brought a lot of it into the limelight," said Lopez, who testified before
the Legislature last week. "You come to discover there are a lot of
families like that. There are a lot of people. ... I think the problem is
so prolific in the community that's maybe why there's the need for the
urgency."

A Public Health Issue

Feary's death prompted House Public Safety Committee Chairman Nestor Garcia
(D-Waipahu, Crestview) to propose a bill authorizing a minimum-security
"intensive treatment facility."

The measure, which is to be considered by the full House this week, would
authorize a 1,700-bed minimum-or medium-security facility with drug
treatment and rehabilitation.

Garcia said that before Feary died, he had always accepted the argument
"that you need the hammer" when dealing with drug addicts.

"More and more people are seeing it as not only a criminal justice issue
but as a public health issue," he said.

Rep. David Pendleton (R-Maunawili, Enchanted Lake) agreed: "We have a moral
obligation to do more than warehouse people. There's a big need out there."

But Santiago said attitudes on drug addiction haven't completely changed.

"I think it's going to take a little bit longer," he said. "That's a huge
leap for a lot of people. Substance abuse is seen as a bad thing, where if
you punish somebody hard enough it's going to make them clean. For some
people, that does work. It just doesn't work for the majority of the
people."