RED LIGHT FOR GREEN HARVEST

We have a serious drug problem in this community, in this state and
in this country. For 40 years, America has been pointing the finger
at individual drug users in an ill-advised "War on Drugs."

Our borders are dangerous, our jails are full and our citizens are angry.

In the latest local battle of that war, the Kaua'i Police Department,
in cooperation with the Drug Enforcement Agency, last month conducted
Operation Green Harvest, a multiple-day helicopter sting that saw
officers swoop in and confiscate a mere 75 marijuana plants.

If there were any marijuana growers that weren't wise to the whole
operation before it happened - and judging by the paltry numbers,
most dealers knew what was coming - the only discouragement they
received was in the form of profit loss as no arrests were made.

The operation cost $27,000 in helicopter fees plus untold amounts in
manpower. The noisy low-flying choppers also irritated law-abiding,
tax-paying citizens - especially on the North Shore.

Isn't this clearly a waste of our time and money? Is this the best
plan we can come up with?

But, like we said, you can't solve problems by pointing fingers.

We know that the Kaua'i Police Department and Chief Darryl Perry are
doing the best they can with the hand they've been dealt and we
understand that it's not as if they can simply trade in their Green
Harvest grant money from the DEA for more patrol officers, more
informants, more resources, better equipment or more prosecuting
attorneys. Their options are limited.

But KPD's earnest enforcement should not prevent us from criticizing
poor policies. It's high time we recognized that the "War on Drugs"
has long since been decided. We lost.

This shift in direction was reflected this month in the decisions
made by our country's new drug czar, Gil Kerlikowske. In interviews
with media this week, he said, "We should stop using the war
metaphor. We should stop comparing this to a war and be much smarter
about how we are dealing with it - and in a much more comprehensive way."

We agree. Let's put more thought into what we're doing and how we're doing it.

Let's refocus the money, including the grant that funds Green
Harvest, on fighting the hard core drugs that cause significantly
more damage to society like meth, crack and heroine.

Let's give the local police departments the money they need to
accomplish their true mission, keeping our society safe, not some
feel-good operation that produces negligible results.

That grant money could have instead gone toward putting an undercover
cop on the street, for instance.

Let's redirect some of the pot-fighting funding to severely
strengthen drug prevention and rehabilitation efforts.

We should be treating drug abuse like the disease it is instead of
the crime it isn't.

We can help too. Parents, be responsible for your kids. Try to know
where they're at and what they're doing. Be involved in your children's lives.

Adults should set an example and be responsible for their actions.
We're a society, a community. We can help the police department fight
drugs by doing our part. Let's live healthy lives and raise the bar
for the next generation.

Hawai'i County voters got it right when they told their police to
ratchet down the rhetoric on marijuana and put the focus and the
funds into more important issues.

That's not finger-pointing, that's problem-solving.