HAWAII'S `ICE' HABIT BADLY NEEDS TREATMENT

It was standing room only Wednesday at the Hawaii State Capitol Auditorium
for what was billed as a "town hall meeting" to address Hawaii's problem
with crystal methamphetamine.

After overviews from a number of experts ranging from academia to law
enforcement, testimony from dozens of recovering "ice" addicts made clear
the absolute necessity for adequate treatment programs if Hawaii is to
recover from this grievous, costly, self-inflicted wound.

Men, women, very young and pretty old, they stepped up to the microphone to
share about the two things they have in common: a frightening addiction to
"ice" and a way out of that predicament.

The answer, they all testified, is drug treatment.

Unfortunately for the tens of thousands of this state's untreated users,
and for the community in which they run rampant, the amount of treatment
available in our community amounts to a tiny fraction of what's required.

That's partly because the state is still stuck on the bankrupt notion that
drug addiction is best dealt with by waiting until addicts commit crimes
and then warehousing them in prison.

And it's partly because health insurance companies are too shortsighted to
provide adequate provision for drug treatment in their policies.

It's no coincidence, then, that Wednesday's town meeting was not attended
by 72 out of 76 state lawmakers and not attended by a single representative
of the insurance industry.

That's shameful, especially in light of omnibus legislation to be
considered by lawmakers in January, including mandatory probation and
treatment for first- and second-time offenders, based on a successful
program being used in Arizona.

The Legislature also will have a second chance to pass a "parity bill" that
would keep insurance companies from limiting benefits covering
substance-abuse treatment.

Funding for increased treatment can come from higher alcohol and tobacco
taxes, as Gov. Ben Cayetano proposes.

This legislation, or something very like it, should be at the top of every
lawmaker's "must-pass" list in the next session. That's because, among
other reasons, "ice" use in Hawaii is becoming epidemic.

Hawaii law-enforcement officials estimate there are 30,000 hard-core users
and up to three times that number of "recreational" users of smokable
crystal methamphetamine ("ice" or "batu").

By all accounts, it is a nasty drug, taking a horrendous toll on families,
on health, on education, on incarceration rates, on welfare reform - in
short, on every aspect of our community.

Interestingly, Arizona's drug treatment program is called Proposition 200.
That's because Arizonans became so impatient with their lawmakers' failure
to enact it, they made it law by referendum.

Hawaii doesn't have provision for initiative, but it does have increasingly
frustrated voters, angered by their representatives' failure to move on
this and other vital issues in Hawaii today. It's time they step up to
their job.