Editor's note: This is the third of four stories on the Kaua'i County Drug Summit 2005, held recently at the Kauai Beach Resorts (formerly the Radisson Kauai Beach Resort near Hanama'ulu). Today's installment is on drug-treatment ideas. Tomorrow's final installment will be on enforcement, and community-integration plans . A multi-pronged treatment program is planned, in the process of being implemented, and necessary, to fully fight the war on drugs, experts said during the Kaua'i County Drug Summit 2005. [continues 442 words]
PO'IPU -- Gary Shimabukuro, who has given drug-awareness talks and training seminars on just about all of the continents in the world, wants the next generation to step up. "My hope is for there to be a surge in the number of programs where the younger generation teaches their peers about the dangers of ice and other drugs," remarked Shimabukuro. "I think that they would want to hear it from people their own age rather than from an old person, like myself. The slide show is a presentation of the surface of the truth," said Shimabukuro, who teaches and advises on drug-awareness matters through his O'ahu-based company, Laulima Hawai'i. [continues 793 words]
Dylan B. Hooser, 21, state Sen. Gary Hooser's son, was arrested earlier this month for marijuana possession. The arrest took place Thursday, Dec. 11 at 10:12 a.m., in the Ching Young Village parking lot in Hanalei, according to Kaua'i Police Department sources. Dylan Hooser was arrested and booked on charges of third-degree promotion of a detrimental drug, a petty misdemeanor that carries a maximum sentence of 30 days imprisonment and a $1,000 fine. Sen. Gary Hooser was emotional about his son's arrest earlier this week. [continues 149 words]
PUHI -- Representatives from a number of law enforcement services swooped down on Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School Wednesday, putting three helicopters down on school property for a demonstration of the Green Harvest marijuana eradication program. Chiefess students were invited to see some of the techniques that the state Division of Land and Natural Resources Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE) use when they find marijuana plants in inaccessible regions of Kaua'i. After the three helicopters flew in from Lihu'e Airport, following Kaumuali'i Highway, they circled the school in formation. Then, as the theme song form the television show, "Cops," "Bad Boys" by Inner Circle, played on the public address system, members of DOCARE repelled down ropes strung from a Hughes 500 helicopter as the pilot steadied the aircraft, landing safely on the school's field. [continues 213 words]
WAILUA HOUSELOTS -- Gail Kerley said her life turned upside down after the theft of $250,000 worth of personal goods and cooking equipment from her home here. Kerley used the cooking gear for her business, "Goin' Tamales." She says everything was taken from her home in early September, and sold a few weeks later at a garage sale. "Ice," the street name of the illegal drug crystal methamphetamine, may play a role in the theft, according to Kerley. She said in an interview with The Garden Island that the Kaua'i Police Department has monitored the people she claims are involved in the alleged theft of her goods, but haven't made an arrest because investigators say they need more evidence. [continues 1059 words]
I get so tired of hearing uninformed people say that marijuana is harmless, or that it causes "little harm," as recent contributors to the Forum have stated. Call up the American Cancer Society and ask for some of their literature. Marijuana smoke contains a great many more toxic substances and carcinogens than tobacco smoke. Smoking grass on a regular basis is a great way to destroy one's health. And those who say that marijuana is not addictive have obviously never spent much time with a pothead who can't think about anything except getting high and staying high and figuring out how to get some more weed once his stash has been all smoked up, even if he has to lie or steal to get it. [continues 146 words]
Kaua'i has 259 registered medical marijuana patients, second most in the state. O'ahu has only 139, and Maui 121. Since Hawai'i officials legalized the medicinal use of the drug in 2000, only the Big Island (513) had more patients requesting marijuana permits than Kaua'i. According to the state Narcotics Enforcement Division (NED), there are over 1,000 patients in Hawai'i who can use the drug for medicinal purposes. Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii President Pamela Lichty said the number of people approved to use medical marijuana "is really quite extraordinary considering how little you hear about it. [continues 410 words]
Re: (TGI, Guest viewpoint, October 3. We apparently did not learn anything from the prohibition of alcohol. We have spent billions of dollars on the "War on Drugs". Have we won? No. We've ruined the lives of thousands of harmless people and their families. We've filled our prisons (at great expense) until the U.S. now has more people in prison than any other country. If all drugs were legalized the price would drop and there'd be no profit in selling. [continues 108 words]
A new free booklet full of information about fighting drug abuse in Hawai'i is now available on Kaua'i. "The Resource Guide: The 411 on Drugs and Survival Resources" is a follow-up to the recent statewide broadcast of documentary filmmaker Edgy Lee's "Ice: Hawai'i's Crystal Meth Epidemic." The booklet includes sections on spotting substance abuse, fact sheets with color photos on alcohol, ice, marijuana, plus Ecstasy and MDMA. The booklet is being distributed on Kaua'i at Chevron service stations, at 7-Eleven stores, and at Bank of Hawaii branches. [continues 52 words]
Parents and educators, anyone who deals with Kaua'i's youth, is advised to pick up a copy of the booklet "The Resource Guide: The 411 on Drugs and Survival Resources. The booklet is a follow-up to the recent simulcast of filmmaker Edgy Lee's documentary on "ice" or crystal meth. The publication provides hard facts, and a long list of resources, for those involved with fighting the drug battle, for parents and for drug abusers who wish to get off whatever they are on. [continues 107 words]
Does anyone really believe that waving signs by the side of the road, or 'summit' meetings in Honolulu, or watching hour long TV documentaries, or saying prayers, will have any appreciable impact on the Crystal Methamphetamine problem? Will the much publicized bust of one 'ice house' on Kauai really have any effect on the supply of the drug available on the streets? Especially if the defendants are given a slap on the wrist and turned free to ply their trade again. [continues 700 words]
Hundreds of Kauaians turned out Thursday to show their support for efforts to combat the sale and use of the drug "ice" on Kaua'i. The sign holders lined roads and highways across the Island and sent a signal out to our government officials that they are behind them in their actions to "bust" ice houses and in taking steps to end this tragic trend on Kaua'i. Mayor Bryan Baptiste and his administration, the Rev. Roy "Rocky" Sasaki and other organizers of this islandwide event are to be congratulated on accomplishing their goals in staging the sign holding event, which was modeled on similiar stands taken on O'ahu and the Big Island. [continues 118 words]
"There must have been a thousand people all over the island," hollered a jubilant Rev. Roy "Rocky" Sasaki into his cell phone as he drove back from the Westside after Kauaians all over the island held up signs to show their support of programs to stop the crystal methamphetamine ("ice") problem on Kaua'i yesterday afternoon. "We're all together in this, and we'll keep doing this again and again," was the message spread today, said Sasaki. "People really agreed with the sign-holders," honking and waving as they drove by, he said. [continues 379 words]
Rapt interest across Kaua'i and the rest of Hawai'i in the unprecedented simulcast of Hawai'i filmmaker Edgy Lee's "Ice: Hawaii's Crystal Meth Epidemic" documentary showed that we are facing an epidemic, and that the average person is unaware of the effects of ice across our communities. The epidemic is widespread and includes a tearing apart of neighborhoods and families, the destruction of hundreds, if not thousands, of young lives. The economic impact on the State of Hawai'i and the local economy is immense. And our future prosperity, and safety, is at stake. [continues 372 words]
Reaction by local residents to the showing of Edgy Lee's documentary "Ice: Hawaii's Crystal Meth Epidemic" shows hope, and fear, over the ice problem on Kaua'i. "It was really something that needs to be brought to the attention of the whole community. It exposed it and really brought it onto the front page in a sense," said Payton Hough, a Princeville resident and parent of three children. "It causes people to think of what an impact it is having on our schools, our communities, on our streets." [continues 497 words]
PBS Hawaii (KHET - Channel 11) is presenting six special programs on Hawai'i's crystal methamphetamine problem, beginning with the simulcast of Edgy Lee's "Ice: Hawai'i's Crystal Meth Epidemic" on Wednesday at 7 p.m. On Thursday, Sept. 25 at 7:30 p.m. the "One on One" commentary show will focus on alternatives to the war on drugs. On Monday, Sept. 29 the station begins at three-part series of "Island Insights" with a focus on the ice problem on O'ahu and the Big Island. The shows begin and 7:30 p.m. and continue with new segments on Oct. 15 and Oct. 22. [end]
Communities island-wide are participating in a sign-holding event protesting use of crystal methamphetamine, or ice, on Kaua'i. The sign-holding is concurrent with similar events planned on the Big Island and O'ahu, from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday. The sign-holding campaign is being planned as a follow-up to the airing of Edgy Lee's documentary "Ice: Hawai'i's Crystal Meth Epidemic," which is set to air on eight Hawai'i TV channels from 7 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday. [continues 293 words]
The administration of Mayor Bryan Baptiste and Kaua'i minister Pastor Roy "Rocky" Sasaki are joining forces Thursday in staging an islandwide sign holding campaign aimed at showing that the community is behind the ongoing war against the use of "ice" and other illegal drugs on Kaua'i. The plan follows similar efforts on the Big Island and on O'ahu, and is sure to draw hundreds of people holding signs to sidewalks and fields along Kuhio Highway and Kaumuali'i Highway. [continues 124 words]
Action speaks louder than words, especially when it comes to attacking Kaua'i's serious drug abuse problem. Early Thursday morning Koloa town residents were rudely awakened by the whirring of a large DEA helicopter. The loud noise turned out to be a blessing for residents of a low-income apartment project when they discovered that police were serving search warrants on residents of what's alleged to be "ice" houses. The Kaua'i Police Department was joined by federal agents and law enforcement officials from other islands. They were ready for action with guns drawn in the well-executed plan that resulted in no injuries, except to the pride of suspected "ice" dealers and users. [continues 206 words]
The law makers and enforcers alike are following the pace against drugs which has been in place for over 30 years and has proved to be unsuccessful and an extreme expense to tax payers. Force treats symptoms only and eventually loses its power as self-esteem dwindles. To quote Auntie Sarah in regards to the banyan tree dilemma and apply it to the ICE issue -- "Everybody should get out of the way and let nature take care of its own." This wisdom applied to drug use would lead the drug-addicted U.S. to the path of most European countries whose drug problem has impressionably dropped since acting without force but with life enhancing means -- and basically legalizing drugs. Crimes including burglaries and violent crimes have decreased 80% in the past 6 years. Monies saved from fighting the drug war is applied to supporting positive change in the individual by change in lifestyle including diet, habitual thinking and use of yoga. [continues 101 words]
