Politicians, public focus on 'ice'
By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Advertiser Capitol Bureau
The war on the drug "ice" may have started in the 1980s, but it has become the hottest topic in the summer of 2003.
Here are some of the initiatives being proposed at the state Capitol this week to address the war on crystal methamphetamine, better known as ice: • Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona announced there will be a summit in September with different stakeholders to discuss new legislation and other initiatives to combat the ice epidemic. A series of "talk story" sessions statewide will take place in anticipation of the summit scheduled for Sept. 17 and 18. • House and Senate Democratic leaders announced a joint committee titled the Committee on the Ice Crisis that will travel statewide and hold public hearings soliciting ideas on dealing with crystal meth. The committee is expected to come up with a package of deals in time for the next session of the Legislature scheduled to begin in January. • House Republicans, who were briefed at length by Narcotics Enforcement Division chief Keith Kamita this week, said they will lobby for a package of legislation to make it easier for law enforcement to deal with ice dealers and manufacturers, including a loosening of search-and-seizure laws.
That point became obvious this week when there were press conferences held on consecutive days by lawmakers in both parties at the state Capitol to discuss how to tackle the crystal methamphetamine epidemic, including the formation of a bipartisan House-Senate committee to meet in the coming months.
War against 'ice'
At a third press conference held Thursday, Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona announced plans for a summit in September that will look at ice and other drugs.
But it isn't just the politicians who have ramped up the fight. Communities in Kahalu'u and Mililani have held sign-waving rallies in recent weeks. Residents in Kailua, Hale'iwa, Wai'anae and 'Ewa have announced they will have town hall meetings to address the ice problem in the coming days and months, while Palolo residents are considering the same. The Waimanalo community, meanwhile, has scheduled an upcoming sign-waving.
While the cynical observer might think that the surging furor by the elected officials over the ice epidemic is politicians jumping on the bandwagon during an otherwise largely uneventful summer, law enforcement officials welcome the attention.
They also believe it can be attributable to a variety of factors that have come together in recent months.
Ira Rohter, a political science professor at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa, said it appears that the sudden rise of concern over crystal meth use is sincere and positive.
"It's genuinely an epidemic and citizens are revolting," Rohter said. "There's something really profound going on here. And maybe what's noteworthy are people are taking steps to deal with it."
Politicians may be particularly keen to latch on to the issue because it is not one that deeply divides the community, such as the debate over reformation of the public school system, he said.
"Politically, how do you come down on the wrong side of this one?" he said.
Additionally, "there are solutions, it's not like it's hopeless, so it does lend itself well to a government activity," Rohter said. "There are occasions when good government and good politics come together."
Rohter, like others, also credited Aiona's passion for the issue as a major factor, noting that he helped bring the Drug Court program to Hawai'i in 1995 and was its first judge after years of dealing with drug-related crimes while on the bench. Fighting drug and alcohol addiction was a major platform during Aiona's election campaign.
U.S. Attorney Ed Kubo said he began to notice the different stakeholders in the fight against ice forming a unified front last November after a local conference focusing on issues facing Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. "There was a blossoming of the realization of the toll that ice was starting to take," Kubo said.
Other events have also galvanized the community, Kubo said, such as the March shooting death of police officer Glen Gaspar by a man suspected of being high on ice. There has also been an increasing amount of news coverage on recent ice busts showing seizure of large quantities of the drug.
In addition, the community is becoming more aware that an increasing amount of crimes, from bank robberies to child abuse, can be traced to drugs, primarily crystal meth, Kubo said. "I see it in terms of every aspect, any and every type of crime that you can see, or an upheaval of a family, is either directly or indirectly related to drugs, and ice is the No. 1 drug involved."
Keith Kamita, chief of the state's Narcotics Enforcement agreed. "What you're seeing is the community has finally decided that they've had enough," he said. "We're seeing more and more community groups coming out, starting to take notice of the damage that is being done to our society and our children."
Kamita said authorities have stepped up their efforts with more cases, and there is also now media awareness and attention to the war on ice.
Honolulu Police Capt. Kevin Lima of the Narcotics/Vice Division said it has helped that law enforcement agencies are now working more cooperatively than ever before on combating ice, a development largely because of the 1999 establishment of the Hawai'i chapter of the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Program, also known as HIDTA. The umbrella group not only has unified drug enforcement efforts but also armed the effort with federal dollars and other resources.
"We worked together before, but they increased the amount of participation and cooperation," Lima said. The coordinated efforts have allowed authorities to go after "bigger players" and raise the profile of the fight.
Reach Gordon Y.K. Pang at gpang@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.
