MAUI NEI

He was a stranger but his background was familiar enough to make it seem we had
known each other for years. Let's call him William. He had some ideas about the
current "ice" plague. The ideas had grown out of personal encounters with
victims of crystal amphetamine, also known as batu.

William was a survivor of the 1960s-1970s counterculture, one of those
characters more interested in how he lived than what he accumulated. He found
his way to Maui from the West Coast decades ago and has scuffled around,
picking up work here and there. His hands bore the scars and calluses that go
with manual labor. His face was marked by his years and experiences. Deep laugh
lines radiated out from intent, pale eyes.

"I can remember when it happened," William said. "It was about 15 years ago. I
was living out Hana way and had a good friend who liked to have a good time. He
drank a lot of beer, smoked a bunch of dope, but even when he was so stoned he
could barely walk, he was always laughing, telling jokes, singing songs. He
used to say that a little weed made it possible for him to forget about not
having a decent job or living in a shack."

Overnight the friend turned into a stranger. He'd gotten into some ice "because
it was cheap and a 'green harvest' raid had cut off his supply of smoke. When
he was high, he seemed more or less OK," William said. "He started stealing
from his friends, his family, and he got mean. The ice stole his soul, just
like that Big Island woman said in the newspaper story.

"The worst part about ice is that it sneaks up on its victims and takes their
souls from behind," William said. "I've seen it over and over again."

Living in remote areas of Maui, William said he saw families destroyed, and
sweet-natured individuals turn into thugs who abused everyone around them. "A
lot of times, the cops knew about ice users. They'd get called when they got
violent. A lot of times the cops would avoid the ice users. It was a lot safer
going after hippies stoned on weed."

William shook his head. "Remember how everyone used to avoid anyone using
'reds' and alcohol or who were tripping on STP? Bad as those were, ice is much,
much worse. On ice, guys don't give a damn about anything."

William was worried about what lay ahead for Maui and the rest of the state. "I
read about that task force arresting all those guys. If they go after the
suppliers and dealers big-time, you and I are going to be living with a lot of
ice addicts who are having a tough time getting what they need."

He wasn't opposed to the arrests, he was just worried about the effects. "If
they cut into the supply, that will raise the prices and unless there's a way
to help the addicts, they are going to be stealing twice as much to pay higher
prices.

"I know guys who would stop if they knew where they could get some help. If
everyone concentrates on the supply side and don't do anything about getting
the addicts straightened out, it's going to be an even bigger problem than it
is."

I talked about earlier efforts to dissuade youngsters from trying ice. The Maui
Academy of Performing Arts did an original play based on real-life stories. The
play was performed for school kids and may have helped keep some from trying
ice. I know that everyone who has seen the effects of ice says there aren't
enough programs available to help addicts get off and stay off the drug. I know
that making moral judgments about addicts did nothing to help solve the problem
even though someone who has never had an addiction might have trouble
understanding why "they don't just quit."

William and I both knew individuals who got strung out on cocaine and managed
to quit when it got too expensive. One acquaintance left the island just to get
away from the drug. We both knew individuals who weaned themselves from
alcohol, tobacco, marijuana and even heroin when the drugs got in the way of
something they wanted to do. We also both knew individuals who were fine as
long as they had access to their drug of choice.

"That's not true with ice. That stuff is definitely a killer," William said.
"They'll look you straight in the eye and swear they're OK, then turn around
and steal your money or whatever they can get their hands on."

It was time for William to go.

"Hey, man, do what you can. This ice thing is terrible but something needs to
be done for those poor suckers who got hooked. You know it only takes once."