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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Tuesday, December 30, 2003

Ice opponents plan Capitol rally

By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Staff Writer

A nine-month campaign to fight drug addiction in neighborhoods continues next month with a rally at the State Capitol and a proposal for a new tax on alcohol and tobacco to fight the ice epidemic in the Islands.

Anti-ice rally
  • What: Ice rally and sign waving
  • When: Jan. 23, 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
  • Where: State Capitol
The Legislature will convene Jan. 21 and the People's Summit, made up of community groups from around the state, wants to take its message to lawmakers: no more crystal meth in paradise.

Rally organizers said they want lawmakers to remember that hundreds of people who have attended town hall meetings and held anti-drug signs across the state are expecting action from their legislators and the administration.

"We want to let them know that the communities are serious about the problem we are facing with the ice epidemic," said Keith Ryder, pastor at Light of Promise Ministries and one of the organizers of the rally.

The group is looking for a holistic approach that involves treatment, prevention and enforcement, Ryder said. He added that law enforcement has been cracking down on the problem and now government must step forward and do its part, including funding programs.

To that end, the community will urge lawmakers to enact an additional tax on alcohol and tobacco sales to pay for treatment and prevention programs, said Alan Shinn, a coalition member.

"It makes perfect sense to us because alcohol is the most abused substance," said Shinn, executive director of the Coalition for a Drug-Free Hawaii. "It causes more injuries, deaths and health costs in the state and nationwide."

Tobacco, although already a heavily taxed item, is also viewed as fair game because it is the "gateway" substance to drug use for children. Children, some as young as 9 years old, often begin with tobacco and alcohol, he said.

The community will have to take a strong stand on the issue if the Legislature is to listen and act, Shinn said, adding that the support has been there in the past and was the source of the anti-drug movement these past nine months.

"We have to tap that power, that community energy to give legislators sanctions to bring up the 'T' word, taxes, about increasing taxes to address the shortage in revenue to support new services," he said.

Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com or 234-5266.


Correction: The Legislature opens Jan. 21. A previous version of this story had the wrong date.