MAYOR: DRUG-TREATMENT FACILITY TO BE SITED IN 2010

Editor's note: This is the fourth in a series of articles on
methamphetamine use in Hawai'i.

LIHU'E - Mayor Bernard P. Carvalho Jr. said he still intends to site a
residential, adolescent, drug-treatment facility on the island before
year's end.

It will take three years to become operational, and it won't be at the
old Hanapepe Kaua'i Humane Society site, he said via e-mail through
Mary Daubert, county public information officer.

Funding and community opposition halted the Hanapepe plan, Daubert
said.

"One of my major goals as mayor is to site an adolescent residential
drug-treatment facility on Kaua'i, and I intend to fulfill this goal,"
said Carvalho.

"In December 2008, shortly after we took office, a treatment and
integration team comprised of professionals in the drug-treatment and
rehabilitation field, was assembled by our Anti-Drug Coordinator
Theresa Koki," he said.

"Their primary focus has been to assist with filling the gaps in
services for treatment and recovery facilities on Kaua'i, including
the siting of an adolescent residential drug-treatment facility.

"A community outreach plan currently being developed by the treatment
and integration team seeks to address community concerns regarding
drug-treatment and recovery facilities in their neighborhoods," said
the mayor.

"After the plan is finalized, we will host town-hall meetings around
the island and gather input from the community, which will be
considered and then compiled in a comprehensive report.

"As indicated in my March 2009 Quarterly Report Card, December 2010
has been set as the target date for the siting of the treatment
facility, and we have been working diligently towards this through our
Anti-Drug Office," he said.

"It is my hope that in three years we will have a 20-bed adolescent
residential treatment facility up and running," he said via e-mail
Wednesday.

"We have to give our kids the option to deal with their problems here
in their own community where they can benefit from the support of
their families," Carvalho said in the Sept. 7, 2008 issue of The
Garden Island.

Crystal methamphetamine, or ice, is a problem on the island, but not
the only drug on the county anti-drug coordinator's radar.

"Ice is one of the most highly addictive drugs there is and I have
seen the damages that it can do to communities and families," said
Koki.

"I have also seen the recovery process and it takes a lot out of
families to get to the point of acceptance," she said. "But what
concerns me more right now is the abuse of prescription (Rx) drugs
(taken by those for whom it's not prescribed), over-the-counter (OTC)
drugs and even animal tranquilizers such as ketamine (dubbed 'Special
K') that are readily available in our homes, parks and schools and can
be ordered over the Internet," said Koki.