Pubdate: Sat, 03 Nov 2007
Source: Honolulu Advertiser (HI)
Copyright: 2007 The Honolulu Advertiser, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.
Contact:  http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/195
Author: Peter Boylan, Advertiser Staff Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

CRACK COCAINE SEIZURES RISE IN HAWAII

The amount of crack cocaine seized in Hawai'i this year  has far 
surpassed totals for the previous three years,  a trend law officials 
attribute to heavy enforcement  pressure on crystal methamphetamine 
operations, crack's  relatively low cost and other factors.

Through September, authorities seized 671 grams of  crack, compared 
with 442 grams in 2006. In 2005, the  haul was 47.91 grams, and 159.2 
grams were seized in  2004, according to statistics released by a 
state,  county and federal drug task force.

"We have been noticing the resurgence of both powder  cocaine and 
crack cocaine to our Islands. Virtually all  of these 
drug-trafficking groups who were bringing in  crystal meth are also 
either now bringing in both ice  and coke, or have switched over now 
to bringing in only cocaine," said U.S. attorney Ed Kubo.

"This trend is due to several factors, the first being  our efforts 
against 'ice' are aggressive and continue  to be so successful that 
there is a concern by  criminals about dealing in ice and getting 
long prison  sentences."

Another factor is an "ice" shortage, Kubo said.  "Dealers are aware 
that many users of ice will also be  willing to use cocaine when 
there is a shortage of  ice," he said.

In addition to an increase in crack, authorities also  are seeing 
more powdered cocaine.

Through September, agents have seized roughly 49 pounds  of cocaine, 
crack's main ingredient, compared with 78  pounds in 2006, 26 pounds 
in 2005 and 38 pounds in  2004.

Cocaine arrests in Honolulu hit a five-year high last  year, when 
Honolulu police made more than 200 cocaine  arrests, compared with 
135 in all of 2005 and 214 in  all of 2004. This year's arrests were 
not available.

By comparison, crystal meth-amphetamine seizures have  tapered off, 
with agents confiscating 111 pounds of ice  through September, 
compared with 179 pounds last year,  265 pounds in 2005 and 226 pounds in 2004.

Other statistics cited by law enforcement include a  reduction in the 
number of meth labs discovered in the  state, which decreased from 17 
in 2005 to two this  year.

The figures are from the Hawaii High Intensity Drug  Trafficking 
Area, a task force consisting of state,  county, and federal law 
enforcement agencies.

In addition, "ice" use in the workplace has dropped by  25 percent in 
the third quarter of this year, according  to statistics gathered for 
the state by Diagnostic  Laboratory Services, the state's largest 
drug-testing  company.

MORE SEEKING HELP

Another cocaine indicator is the number of adults  entering 
state-funded drug treatment programs seeking  help for cocaine and 
crack addiction, a number that  increased last year for the first 
time in five years.

There were 370 adults who sought such treatment in  fiscal year 2007, 
compared with 316 in 2006, 338 in  2005, 385 in 2004 and 392 in 2003.

By comparison, 3,270 adults received treatment for  crystal 
methamphetamine addiction in fiscal year 2007,  compared with 3,363 
in 2006, 3,538 in 2005, 3,136 in  2004 and 3,013 in 2003.

The Salvation Army, which runs a substance abuse  treatment program 
for longtime users, many of whom  ended up in the criminal justice 
system, has seen its  percentage of admitted methamphetamine addicts 
decline  from 78 percent in 2005 to 73 percent last year and 72 
percent so far this year.

"We've seen a leveling off and slight decrease in  methamphetamine 
and a small increase in crack cocaine,"  said Larry Williams, 
executive director of Addiction  Treatment Services at The Salvation 
Army. "I expected  to see a significant increase in crack cocaine but 
it hasn't happened yet.

"What we see is not necessarily a reflection of what is  out there on 
the street. We see a lot of people who  have been addicted for quite 
a few years so there is  usually a lag between us and what law 
enforcement  sees."

Crack cocaine, a form of cocaine base, is derived from  powdered 
cocaine, according to the National Institute  on Drug Abuse.

Powdered cocaine is dissolved in a solution of sodium  bicarbonate 
and water that is boiled, and a solid  substance separates from the 
boiling mixture. This  solid substance, crack, is removed and allowed to dry.

The crack cocaine is then broken or cut into "rocks,"  each typically 
weighing from one-tenth to one-half of a  gram. One gram of pure 
powder cocaine will convert to  approximately 0.89 grams of crack cocaine.

The current influx of cocaine and crystal  methamphetamine is coming 
to Hawai'i primarily from San  Diego and Sacramento, Calif., 
according to the DEA.

"You still have the flow of crystal methamphetamine but  now we are 
seeing a cocaine flow," said Anthony D.  Williams, assistant special 
agent in charge of the U.S.  Drug Enforcement Administration's 
Honolulu district  office. "It's the same distribution networks, via 
parcel or human body carriers, and at this point, our  issue is the 
dope coming in from the West Coast. Our  focus remains the 
distribution networks and the  suppliers."

LIGHTER PENALTIES

Another factor behind the increased supply of cocaine  could be that 
federal penalties for cocaine possession  are far less stringent than 
those that apply to crystal  methamphetamine. Users and dealers may 
be turning to  crack as a way to dodge stiffer sentences, said 
Janet  L. Kamerman, special agent in charge of the FBI's  Honolulu division.

"Recently, we've seen cocaine and crack sales  increasing in Hawai'i. 
It's possible that drug dealers  and users are turning to drugs they 
think are less  likely to attract law enforcement attention," 
Kamerman said. "While the sentencing guidelines for 
distributing  cocaine are less severe than the guidelines for 
crystal  methamphetamine trafficking, the federal punishment 
for  crack and ice possession is similar, so there's no  benefit for 
the dealers in terms of reduced penalties.

"At any rate," she said, "we will continue to work with  our local 
and federal law enforcement partners to  identify and arrest those 
people responsible for  poisoning Hawai'i's neighborhoods by pushing 
illegal drugs."

Ronald F. Becker, an attorney and director of the  criminal justice 
program at Chaminade University, said  there are societal reasons for 
crack's resurgence.

"Methamphetamine and crack cocaine are the preferred  drug amongst 
the depressed, dispossessed and  self-destructive poor. The purity of 
crack cocaine is  very close to 100 percent, but yet costs less than 
does  powder cocaine, which is only at best around 5 percent  cocaine 
and the rest mannitol (baby laxative)," Becker  said.

"Smokable drugs provide a euphoric relief ... (that)  comes on 
quicker, is more intense with a heightened  sense of well-being and 
the feeling of being in  control, which for many of these people is 
absent in  their worlds."
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