ECONOMIC IMPACT OF THE 'ICE' EPIDEMIC ELUSIVE

HONOLULU -- Potential economic damage across the islands from the highly
addictive drug crystal methamphetamine, or ''ice,'' is easily in the hundreds
of millions of dollars.

But the annual loss is no easier to count than the number of addicts.

A large portion of property loss from crime, a share of the tab for state law
enforcement, the bill for drug treatment at clinics across the state, a portion
of prison budgets, and the cash wasted on the drug itself by thousands of
addicts all add to the financial damage.

That damage is part of the reason the state has launched an unprecedented
effort against ice, convening legislative task forces, town-hall style meetings
and the first statewide drug summit later this month.

The public is finally beginning to realize the huge amount of damage the drug
does, said Keith Kamita, chief of the state Narcotics Enforcement Division.

The range of estimates on the number of ice users is wide, from 8,000 to
120,000. Officials say it's hard to get credible information from users and
recovering addicts.

Treatment programs for hardcore users range from $3,000 to $10,000 per user,
according to U.S. Attorney Edward Kubo Jr.

Even at the low estimate of 8,000 users, that's between $24 million and $80
million that needs to be spent on treatment alone.

''Because of the high addictiveness of this drug, some people can be hooked the
first time,'' Kamita said.

The cost of treatment depends ''on the acuity of the disorder,'' variables in
the person's circumstances and the amount of support from friends and family,
said Elaine Wilson, chief of the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division of the
Department of Health.

The Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division last year received about $5.8 million from
the state general fund and about $7 million in federal substance abuse
prevention and treatment grants.

Those figures were not broken down to how much is spent specifically on
treatment for ice.

Wilson recently told a legislative committee that the number of adults admitted
to state-funded drug treatment agencies for crystal meth abuse has roughly
doubled since 1998. According to statistics from providers, there were 2,730
adults in Hawaii admitted for crystal meth in 2002, compared to 1,423 in 1998.

''The important thing is to get them in and retain them,'' she said.

With continued use, the addict goes between supercharged highs and depression
lows, losing concern for appearance and health, becoming agitated and
eventually sinking to paranoid delusions and hallucinations that can lead to
bizarre behaviors, including assaults on family members and innocent
bystanders, Kamita said.

Brain damage is among the consequences, he said.

''You're going to notice that in your care homes right now, you're going to
find that before where you would see people in their 70s and 80s, you're going
to see 30-year-olds in there because their body has taken such a toll from this
drug,'' Kamita said.

L. Mason Henderson, CEO and executive director of the 123-bed Sand Island
Treatment Center that treats 300 to 400 drug abusers a year, said treatment for
ice isn't the same as that for other drugs.

The community needs to understand that effective treatment of an ice addiction
takes more than the cheaper ''spin dry'' treatment that works for a short time
before there's a relapse, he said.

With long-term chronic ice addicts, the drug induces permanent schizophrenic
behavior and other mental problems that could leave them in a care home,
Henderson said.

''And that's really going to be a pretty hefty price tag,'' he said.

With the soaring use of the drug in recent years, there has been a
corresponding growth in burglaries, shop lifting and auto thefts, many of which
police say are committed by addicts looking to buy ice that on the street costs
$200 to $300 a gram.

According to the latest police statistics for Oahu, there were 8,932 auto
thefts reported last year, up 52 percent from the year before. Burglaries rose
by 22 percent while larceny-theft cases, such as shoplifting, went up 13
percent.

The total value of items taken in 2002 in Oahu home and business burglaries in
2002 was $16.1 million with $24 million lost in larceny and theft, nearly half
of which was vehicles, according to Honolulu police figures. Only about 12
percent of stolen items are recovered.

How much of those rising costs can be attributed to ice is reflected in a
report in June from the U.S. Department of Justice's Arrestee Drug Abuse
Monitoring program.

Of 33 major cities, Honolulu had the highest percentage of male arrestees
testing positive for methamphetamine in 2001. The closest city to Honolulu's
37.4 percent was San Jose, Calif., with 30.2 percent.

Although he had no estimate of the cost, Kamita noted that law enforcement
agencies also are under added financial strain from the ice epidemic because of
the violence associated with the drug.

''It's going to cost more because you're going to respond with more people,''
he said. ''When we do a raid on an ice house, you're going to take more
precautions, you're going to call in more agencies.''

For the current fiscal year, the Narcotics Enforcement Division's budget was
just over $590,000, although Kamita said the agency also generates about
$300,000 from special funds each year.

The most difficult cost to estimate is the expense to individuals and families
who suffer from the effects of ice addiction in lost income, money spent
feeding the addiction and in family or personal resources squandered by users.

Authorities also note that public involvement against the drug can provide the
least costly and most effective way of helping to drive it out of a community.