YOUTHS' VIEWS ABOUT 'ICE' ARE CHANGING

New statistics show Hawaii's young people have a lower opinion of
crystal methamphetamine and the people who use and abuse it.

But experts agree that now is not the time to let up on the fight
against "ice."

As the nonprofit organization Hawaii Meth Project ramps up the second
wave of its public education campaign, representatives are touting
their past year of advertising and outreach efforts, which they see as
instrumental in changing public perceptions of the highly addictive
drug.

Among the survey's findings is the fact that 54 percent of teens and
67 percent of young adults in the state now see great risk in taking
meth once or twice, up 10 percentage points for each group from one
year ago, before the Meth Project began.

Results also show a growing disapproval of methamphetamine, with 87
percent of young adults now reporting they strongly disapprove of
trying "ice" even once or twice, up 6 points from 2009.

Peer pressure against meth use is on the upswing, with 67 percent of
teens and 82 percent of young adults saying their friends would give
them a hard time for using meth. A year ago, 56 percent of teens and
75 percent of young adults said the same thing.

According to Hawaii Meth Project Executive Diretor Cindy Adams, meth
is a pervasive problem throughout the state, and the latest survey
results show that a strong awareness campaign can work to change attitudes.

"Getting a consistent message out is what's important," she said.
"Particularly with teenagers, it's difficult to change attitudes and
behavior."

Adams admitted that many adults are shocked by anti-meth television
advertisements, which refrain from pulling any punches when conveying
the dangers of meth abuse. One ad features a girl covered in sores in
the shower, while another shows a young man remembering the day he
walked into an alley and first tried meth, wishing he had been jumped,
severely beaten and hospitalized instead.

"With teenagers," Adams said, "you have to break through the noise.
You have to get their attention and hold it."

Hawaii Police Department Lt. Jason Cortez, of the Community Policing
Division, agreed.

"If you have no credibility with a teenager, they won't listen to
you," he said.

As part of his work with the meth project, Cortez and the officers
under his command have worked to give presentations at schools and
distribute posters, CDs, DVDs and other materials to spread the
project's message.

Among the officers in his department are county school resource
officers, who have already built a rapport with students and a level
of credibility. That means they were a perfect vessel for helping to
spread the Meth Project message.

"They're already there. You have mentoring, you have counseling. I've
seen firsthand how receptive so many of these children are to the
school resource officers," Cortez said.

The message he and others working with the project have helped to
spread is a simple one: "Not Even Once."

Due to its highly addictive properties and wide availability, meth is
a drug which can't be viewed as recreational, Adams said.

"The judgement center of the brain is not developed until 20 or 25
years old," she said. "Kids feel invincible. We have to use every
resource to help them make decisions. Parents, schools, police."

While the survey results and student reactions are encouraging,
anti-drug groups say Big Island residents should continue their
efforts to keep meth out of their communities.

"You know how, when there's a hurricane and the eye passes over, it's
pretty calm?" asked Richey Riggs, head of the Kohala Coalition Against
Drugs. "We're in the eye. Meth has not disappeared."

Riggs, who works in construction, will hold a grand opening Saturday
of the Roots Skatepark in Kohala, which he built with the Roots
Advocates for Youth in an attempt to give young people a healthy
alternative to getting involved with drugs.

Riggs said through his interactions with young people, he knows that
meth is available on the island, and as long as it's here, it will
always be a danger.

Adams agreed that "ice" remains a daunting problem for the Big Isle,
as well as the rest of the state.

"The Department of Justice just released a report that meth is at its
purest and lowest price since 2005," she said.

Better quality and lower prices lead to increased demand, and only by
giving teens and young adults more information will they be able to
make healthy decisions.

"You can't stop the awareness efforts," Riggs said. "It just opens the
door for (meth) to come back in. You've got to keep the kids aware
about the dangers of it."