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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Tuesday, May 20, 2003

Law targets 'ice houses'

 •  Anti-drug effort opened doors
 •  Lee Cataluna: One day at a time to beating 'ice'

By Allison Schaefers
Advertiser Staff Writer

A new law signed by Gov. Linda Lingle yesterday makes it easier for people to report problems and get "ice houses" in their neighborhoods shut down, a widely praised initiative in Hawai'i's battle against what many say is the worst crystal methamphetamine problem in the country.

Lingle signed legislation aimed at reducing Hawai'i's crime rate by targeting landlords and property owners who allow tenants to manufacture and deal drugs. House Bill 297 allocates $100,000 to the attorney general's office for the next two years for the creation of a special legal team that will work to help rid communities of the places that sell illegal drugs.

The law, which takes effect July 1, gives the attorney general's office the power to seek out drug houses and ask the owners and occupants to stop illegal behavior. If they don't, property can be confiscated.

The new law will make it easier for people who live near drug houses to complain and see action, said State Rep. Bob Herkes, D-5th (Ka'u, South Kona), one of the bill's authors.

Interviews with constituents from the economically depressed sugar town of Pahala, where drug-related crime is at an all-time high, is what convinced Herkes the bill had value.

"Many of them were in tears as they talked about what ice has done to their community," Herkes said. "So many of them have literally lost everything to drugs."

Lingle said the law will help make the state safer, calling crystal meth, or ice, "the root of theft, domestic violence and so many of the state's problems." In signing the bill, she mentioned that Hawai'i has the worst crystal meth problem in the country, a statement often repeated by lawmakers, politicians, community activists and law enforcement officials.

According to a Department of Health survey, the state has the nation's highest rate of adults who have tried ice, which can cause violent behavior, psychotic tendencies and insomnia.

The fight against the ice epidemic has drawn widespread attention and spurred whole communities into action. On May 2, residents from Kahalu'u to Sunset Beach took to the street with anti-drug signs as part of their fight to end the illegal drug epidemic that they say has ravaged families and created crime in their community for more than two decades.

The new law will allow law enforcement officials to target drug manufacturers and dealers through civil laws in a technical way that will enable authorities to seize property, Lingle said.

Now citizens will be able to enlist the help of both police on the criminal end and the attorney general's office on the civil side to solve drug problems in the community, Herkes said.

Citizens, who might be afraid to call the police, can call the attorney general's office to report drug problems in their communities.

The new legislation will make it more difficult for drug manufacturers and dealers to slip through legal cracks, said Attorney General Mark Bennett.

The attorney general's office will dedicate a lawyer and one or two investigators to its new legal team, Bennett said.


Correction: House Bill 297 allocated $100,000 to the attorney general's office. The bill was misidentified in a previous version of this story.