Pubdate: Tue, 10 Jun 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: Gordon Y.K. Pang, Advertiser Capitol Bureau
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)
Note: To read more about the "ice epidemic" in Hawaii, go to
http://www.mapinc.org/areas/Hawaii .

OFFICIALS SAY MORE 'ICE' MADE IN HOMES

The state's narcotics enforcement chief yesterday said an increasing number
of Hawai'i residents are making crystal methamphetamine, the drug commonly
known as "ice," from their homes and even out of their cars.

"With crystal methamphetamine becoming a focal point, we're going to see
more and more people trying to manufacture their own," said Keith Kamita,
who heads the Narcotics Enforcement Division of the Department of Public
Safety. "And they can do this in a house with a very small amount of
product."

During the first eight months of 2002, 44.8 percent of arrested males in
Honolulu tested positive for ice in voluntary urine tests, an increase of
about 37.4 percent from the previous year. Statistics from the city Office
of the Medical Examiner showed 62 people who died on O'ahu last year were
crystal meth users, a new record.

Kamita told Republican members of the House of Representatives that there
are at least 10 ways to make crystal meth.

Many home manufacturers get their formulas off the Internet, "some are
correct, some are not," Kamita said. The incorrect recipes turn into
concoctions that sometimes can be more toxic, he said.

Pseudoephedrine, a key component of crystal meth, can be bought over the
counter in any drug store, he said.

An administrative rule bars anyone from buying more than 24 grams of
pseudoephedrine, but Kamita said that limit should be lowered.

His agency has been working with pharmacy retailers and pseudoephedrine
manufacturers to better control access to the chemical to prevent
shoplifting, a constant problem, by limiting the amount they keep on
accessible shelves or leaving it behind the counter entirely.

After turning the pseudoephedrine into crystal, it needs to be heated with
red phosphorous, which is commonly used as the ignitable part of a match,
and other household ingredients, he said.

Narcotics agents have even found people operating drug labs out of the car
trunks and out of a box at the beach.

Neighbors of suspected ice manufacturers should report suspicious activity,
if for no other reason that ice-making chemicals or their byproducts release
lethal fumes, Kamita said.

While ice itself is odorless, phosphoric gas and other chemicals are not, he
said.

Additionally, he said, "because we're dealing with a lot of dangerous
materials, there are a lot of fires."

House Minority Leader Galen Fox, R-23rd (Waikiki, Ala Moana, Kaka'ako), said
the ice problem is one of the two major issues that Republican members want
to deal with during the period between legislative sessions.

Fox said the minority will work toward tighter restrictions on the purchase
of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine and other related chemicals, easing up
search-and-seizure laws, and reinstituting a law requiring that a mandatory
prison sentence be given to anyone in possession of an ounce or more of
crystal meth.

Prevention and education programs should also be supported, he said.

Kamita told reporters after the meeting that expanding his staff of 16 -- 13
of them sworn officers -- by about four or five officers would also help
with enforcement. A greater presence of officers would help increase
enforcement on the Neighbor Islands, he said.

House Democrats, meanwhile, yesterday announced that the leadership of both
the House and Senate will announce members who will participate in a
House-Senate Committee on the Ice Crisis.

Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona has also announced a conference to deal with the
ice issue.
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MAP posted-by: Doc-Hawk