By Lee Cataluna
Advertiser Columnist

Up until three years ago, for Hina Mauka, the largest provider of substance-abuse treatment in the state, the largest "drug of admission" was alcohol. Now, it's crystal methamphetamine. Now, it's a different beast.

For one thing, the image of the drug dealer, a demon from the outside trying to lure your family into his power, doesn't hold. Today, dealers are often part of the family. Drug labs are in the home.

"It's a cottage industry now," says M.P. "Andy" Anderson, CEO of Hina Mauka. "It's easy to make, cheap to make, there's a demand and you don't have to do a lot of marketing."

Another difference is the effect crystal meth has on addicts. Three days of detox doesn't cut it. Three weeks of inpatient drug treatment isn't enough.

"It goes directly to the brain," says Anderson. "It might take six weeks of treatment for someone just to remember their own name. It's difficult to imagine someone coming in for a three-week stay and then going on to outpatient treatment and starting the road to recovery."

For the addict, Hina Mauka has several levels of treatment ranging from inpatient to outpatient day treatment with gradual transitioning into long-term maintenance.

"It's real difficult to stop using something that you've been using for 10 years. There's a lot of void to fill. It takes tremendous work to re-learn how to live again," Anderson says.

But Hina Mauka recognizes that the devastating effects of addiction extend to the family as well. Every Thursday evening, from 7 to 8:30, Hina Mauka holds a Family Education and Counseling Program at its Kane'ohe location. The program is open to family and friends of people addicted to alcohol and other drugs, even if the addicted people aren't in treatment.

The cost is $5 per session, and topics include ways to intervene, recognizing the destructive nature of enabling, and learning about what options are available. The program also teaches families how to make healthful choices for their own lives. A similar group meets once a week in Waipahu.

Of course, the effects of crystal meth extend beyond the family and are felt throughout the community in so many ways, including theft, violence and fear. With this in mind, Hina Mauka is reaching out to neighborhoods by working with local groups as hosts.

On Thursday, Hina Mauka is partnering with the Kahalu'u Neighborhood Board and the Key Project on a town-hall meeting: "What We Can Do About the Ice Epidemic: Prevention, Treatment and Enforcement." The free public meeting will be from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Key Project, 47-200 Waihe'e Road.

For more information, call Andy Anderson at 236-2600, Ext. 227 or Greg Tjapkes at Ext. 261.

"Probably the best thing we do is bring hope," Anderson says.

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