Changing Attitudes, Changing Lives

Welcome and mahalo for visiting the Hawai`i Drug Control web site.

Among the greatest challenges facing our communities are the ill effects of drug abuse and underage drinking that plague our island home. But with the support of public officials at all levels, private agencies and communities at large, the Lingle-Aiona Administration has significantly raised the level of awareness, committed and directed more resources, and facilitated development and implementation of more programs to address the multitude of issues related to drug abuse and underage drinking.

Families throughout Hawai‘i were consumed with bad news about our state’s chronic problems with crystal methamphetamine, or “ice,” in 2002 when the Lingle Aiona Administration first took office.  Since then, Lt.  Governor James R. “Duke” Aiona, Jr., has made drug control a State priority and led the State’s efforts to stamp out illicit drug use and help afflicted families across Hawai`i access treatment and navigate the difficult path to recovery.

The Hawai‘i Drug Control Plan, unveiled in 2005, took a three-pronged approach to address the pervasive drug control problem: Prevention, Enforcement and Treatment.

Evidence shows this approach is paying off.

ENFORCEMENT

Unprecedented cooperation among federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies throughout the state, through shared intelligence, joint training, and joint operations, have resulted in significant inroads in the crystal methamphetamine and other drug trafficking trade.  From 2004 through 2007, law enforcement seized over 370 kilos of ice, or 817 pounds, and kept it off our streets. 

In the same period, law enforcement dismantled or disrupted 309 drug trafficking organizations.  Also, the number of clandestine ice labs in the state fell from a high of 17 in 2005 to only 2 last year, due in large part to new laws pushed by the Administration, which curtailed the ability of would-be meth producers to obtain the necessary quantities of pseudoephedrine needed to manufacture ice in these dangerous and highly toxic laboratories.  

As a result, ice is now harder to obtain, less pure, and significantly higher in price, all indicators that interdiction and enforcement efforts are working. 

Additional evidence of progress on this front is recent statistics showing that overall crime on O`ahu declined for the fourth straight year to the lowest total level in decades.  Of particular note is the drop in property crime rates throughout our state, which often is tied to drug activity.  Property crime offenses in Honolulu have dropped every year since 2002 when there were 54,670 incidents reported.  Last year, that number had dropped to 37,197, a decrease of almost 32% in five years.  Law enforcement officials credit the declining crime rate in large part to a focus on drug traffickers and on increased community vigilance.

PREVENTION

While enforcement receives most of the media attention, prevention is really the most effective and cost-efficient strategy in our long-term drug control efforts.  The ice epidemic that was pervading our state in 2002 and 2003 caused concerned communities and individuals to mobilize and respond to the threat at the neighborhood and grassroots levels.  Government too responded with increased financial resources for primary prevention programs.  Lt. Governor Aiona has taken a hands-on, collaborative approach to do everything within his authority to aide them in their efforts.

In 2006, the State secured an $11 million grant from the federal government, which is bringing together the state, counties, and individual communities to develop and implement a coordinated, needs-based, data-driven substance abuse prevention strategy. 

These collective prevention efforts emphasizing education, awareness, and changing societal attitudes about illicit drugs and underage drinking, especially among our youth, are paying off.  Youth drug use and underage drinking rates in Hawai`i have been on a steady decline.  Recently released figures show alcohol use, binge drinking, marijuana use, and cocaine use among our high school students are at their lowest levels in over 12 years.  Methamphetamine use by young people also has dropped, from 7.7% in 1999 to 4.5% last year.   

TREATMENT

According to Diagnostic Laboratory Services, our state’s largest workplace drug testing company, our state has experienced a steady decline in meth use in the workplace over the past several years.  In fact, we are experiencing the lowest lowest meth use workplace rates since the company began compiling test results in 2004. In the past year alone, crystal methamphetamine use in the workplace dropped 33% from the first quarter of 2007 to the first quarter of 2008. 

The state is also seeing a corresponding drop in treatment admissions for crystal methamphetamine.  In 2007, there were 3270 adult admissions for crystal methamphetamine addiction, compared to 2005 when there were 3538 treatment admissions for the drug.  Although crystal methamphetamine is still the leading cause of treatment admissions in the state, the rate of ice admissions is dropping also; in 2007, ice was responsible for 48.2% of treatment admissions, down from 50.2% in 2004.    

In addition to treatment, the State has recognized the importance of recovery support services as a vital and necessary component in the continuum of care for those battling substance abuse addiction and dependence. 

In an innovative initiative, the State is implementing a pilot program on O`ahu that will provide recovery support services such as employment training, child care, transportation, and housing assistance, to parents in the Child Welfare Services system that have completed or are undergoing substance abuse treatment.  It is estimated that close to 80% of adults or parents in the CWS system have substance abuse issues. The State received more than $8 million in federal funding to support this first-of-its-kind program. 

Overall, the State’s coordinated and comprehensive plan has made significant inroads in dealing with ice, other illicit drugs, and underage drinking.  The Lingle-Aiona Administration is proud to have led in partnership with federal and county government, and especially with individual communities, in achieving the progress that has been made; however, the Administration will continue an aggressive and vigilant approach in dealing with the challenges and constant threat that drugs and underage drinking pose to all of us.