By Lee Cataluna
Advertiser Columnist

Organizers of the Thursday night town hall meeting on the crystal meth epidemic told themselves that if 50 people showed up, they'd call the event a success. Instead, more than 200 people packed the Key Project center in Kahalu'u.

"I was blown away," said M. P. "Andy" Anderson, chief executive of Hina Mauka, the state's largest provider of substance-abuse treatment services. "The entire auditorium was full, standing room only, and then outside the doors there were probably another 55, 60, maybe 80 people."

There were state lawmakers, pastors from several churches, Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona, members of the Police Department, five different treatment agencies, a representative of U.S. Rep. Ed Case's office, 'Olelo and local TV news cameras, and families who were willing to share their personal stories of how "ice" affected them. Some even talked about family members who chose suicide, believing it was the only way out of addiction.

"There's been so many tragedies out there as a result of this ice problem," said Mike McCartney, who served as moderator for the meeting. "Clearly, I think people were asking for help, and people were not afraid to speak up. I think we're out of denial now, facing it as a community."

People talked about loved ones getting arrested — or not getting arrested when they should have. There were stories of addicts serving prison time for drug crimes, getting out and going right back to their old ways because they didn't get any treatment.

People asked for more police officers, better access to and availability of drug treatment. People were straight with each other. They said they were tired and scared and angry, and that enough is enough.

"That became the theme," said Anderson. "They kept saying they don't want to lose anybody else. They don't want to lose anybody else to incarceration or getting shot or suicide or whatever."

"We had a guy stand up and say, 'Eh, I know all you guys inside here. I wen' rip all you guys off, and I sorry, and now, I like help,' " McCartney said. "It was heavy. Almost like going to church."

There were also neighbors who could share stories of hope, people who came out of addiction into recovery and could say they had been clean and sober for a year or five years or seven years. They were able to stand as proof that change is possible.

Because of the huge response, a second meeting is planned for 7 p.m. April 1 at the Key Project in Kahalu'u. This meeting will focus more on strategy, solutions and ways people can get involved. Said McCartney: "Now it's going to be, 'OK, who wants to help? Come. Let's go figure out what we're going to do.' "

Just because these town meetings are being held in Kahalu'u doesn't mean the area is a hotbed of ice problems. The sad truth is, crystal meth is in every community.

"The problem is everywhere. ... We all said it's very courageous to stand up and take action like this, as a community, to say, hey, let's get to the solution of this. Let's find a way we can do something and all of us pull together instead of pointing fingers. So that was pretty moving."

The thing that does set the area apart is its long history of community activism. "It's a small community, we all know each other," McCartney said. "We've always been good at fighting development or trying to protect our way of life. So I guess now what we're seeing is this is the new threat to our community. This is totally a grassroots effort to take our community back."

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