Pubdate: Thu, 17 Jul 2003
Source: Honolulu Advertiser (HI)
Copyright: 2003 The Honolulu Advertiser, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.
Contact:  http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/195
Author: Kevin Dayton, Advertiser Big Island Bureau
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)
Note: To read about the "ice epidemic" in Hawaii, go to
http://www.mapinc.org/areas/Hawaii .

BIG ISLAND MARSHALS ANTI-ICE FORCE

HILO, Hawai'i -- Rockne Araujo, a retired Hilo cop, is angry at what drugs
have done to his once-quiet neighborhood. 

Tony Carrisal, a recovering addict, frets that kids are picking up the glass
pipe with no idea what crystal methamphetamine can do to them.

And Dr. George Rourke, a family practitioner, cannot comprehend some of the
destructive things he sees his drug-addicted patients doing to themselves
and their families.

They all grabbed signs and hit the street in Hilo yesterday afternoon in an
islandwide demonstration against crystal methamphetamine. They were joined
by an estimated 1,500 anti-drug activists who held signs at about 35 sites
from Ka'u to Hawi, and from Pahoa to Kailua, Kona.

"Hilo is the last, last holdout for a peaceful life in the islands, and I'd
like to see it go back to the days when there was no drugs around," said
Araujo, as honking cars and trucks sped by him on Kamehameha Avenue along
Hilo Bay.

"Take a look around, see how many people are on unemployment, see how many
marriages have been broken, see how many murders involve drugs, and
beatings. It's sad," he said.

Lilian Beaufrere, islandwide coordinator for the event, said organizers
wanted to show drug users that the public is watching them, and show
politicians that anti-ice initiatives have community support.

"We're going to be active now; it is no longer in the back of the closet,"
said Beaufrere, who is chair of an organization called Solutions:
Neighborhoods in Action. "It's to say, "This is it, guys, we don't want any
more of this.' "

Big Island Mayor Harry Kim has "declared war" on ice on the Big Island,
where crystal methamphetamine addiction is seen as a critical problem that
has overwhelmed healthcare providers and social service agencies.

The Big Island demonstration is the latest in a series of sign-waving events
around the state. The events are used in part to rally community support for
anti-drug initiatives, and in part to attract new volunteers to the cause,
Beaufrere said.

Malia Leialoha, a counselor for a drug treatment program called the Big
Island Substance Abuse Council, said the event also shows users there are
ways to have clean fun.

Araujo said he hopes the event will motivate people to report what they know
to the police, and help authorities get a handle on the problem.

"This idea of 'I'm afraid, I'm afraid,' sooner or later you're going to have
to stand up, or they're going to walk all over you," Araujo said.
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MAP posted-by: Doc-Hawk