By Lee Cataluna
Advertiser Columnist

There is a dual danger in our community: the threat of crystal methamphetamine and the threat of using crystal methamphetamine as a sexy talking point to gain political clout.

Every year it's something: traffic cams, same-sex marriage, legalized gambling...

Compared to those, crystal meth is a perfect hook for politicians to grab onto because there is no dissenting side. You come out against it and you're instantly on the winning team.

The trouble is, crystal meth is a problem, not a philosophical issue. It's a scourge on our community, and its effects are manifold: domestic violence, child abuse and neglect, property crime, violent crime. The ice epidemic eats away at the integrity of our families, our neighborhoods, our safety. Education is affected. The economy is affected.

But the chant from the Capitol continues.

Blah blah blah blah ice.

Blah blah crystal meth.

Blah blah keiki.

Blah blah 'ohana.

Talking about the problem is a good place to start, particularly when it is happening within communities, across fences, at kitchen tables.

But there is a lot of talk, just talk, from folks who should be taking action. Action such as financing preventive programs for at-risk youth.

Among Gov. Linda Lingle's cuts to the budget was $3.6 million from social services programs statewide.

Of that amount, one of the largest cuts was $500,000 from youth service agencies in Kalihi. How can a politician NOT pay for services to at-risk kids and still do the anti-ice talk?

Thankfully, legislators reconvened in a special session to override Lingle's veto. The money will come from the so-called rainy day fund. Take a look around parts of Kalihi. It's raining pretty hard. It's raining hard all over the state. It's raining ice and abuse and violence and neglect. It's raining apathy and ignorance. It's raining self-promotion.

Instead of standing on the side of the road holding signs and waving at cars (like they're campaigning!) let's see our lawmakers do the right thing. Pay for social service programs. Support preventative measures. Take a hard look at healthcare systems and health insurance that make thorough detoxification and in-patient treatment a financial impossibility for most addicts.

Oh, but that's hard. It's complicated. It's a lot easier to chant a slogan.

But then, we're back where we were 20 years ago, "just saying no." By now you'd think we'd realize that "just saying" it doesn't work.

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com.