Big Island HILO >> Big Island Mayor Harry Kim said he was shocked to learn about a 6-year-old boy who tore up a classroom while under the influence of crystal methamphetamine.
feeling the dangerous
chill of ‘ice’
Crystal meth, heroin use and
arrests are shooting upwardRod Thompson
Star-BulletinAnother time, Kim went to a community meeting in rural, relaxed Hawi, North Kohala, where teenagers came forward to describe their own experiences with the drug, also called "ice."
"If this is happening to Hawi, obviously its happening elsewhere on the island," Kim said. "The only way is to come out very strongly and say, 'This is not acceptable.' "
The mayor said he has asked police, the prosecutor, the schools, and others to declare war on the drug. Various agencies will meet to come up with suggestions.
"This is frightening," he said. "Let's try."
Police yesterday released statistics showing that use of crystal meth and heroin are growing.
Big Island arrests for crystal meth increased from 55 in 1997 to 292 last year. Arrests for heroin jumped from 6 in 1997 to 64 last year.
A switch is under way from cocaine to crystal meth, said Hawaii County Police Department vice Lt. Henry Tavares. For example, a known crack house converted to selling crystal meth, he said.
The effects of the drug can be seen in a recent case in downtown Hilo in which a man, coming off the high of crystal meth, deliberately rammed his pickup truck into a parked police car.
Such violence usually occurs when a crystal meth user begins "tweaking," said Detective Marshall Kanehailua.
Users stay awake for two or three days getting high, he explained. Then they spend two or three days getting angry and violent as the drug wears off. Finally, they fall asleep for days.
To cushion the fall, some users inject heroin or smoke marijuana, Kanehailua said.
Some smoke heroin, thinking they can't become addicted. They discover they were wrong when they find themselves suffering symptoms like a bout with flu which can be instantly relieved with heroin.Despite the growing preference for crystal meth, statistics show cocaine remains a serious problem.
There were 167 cocaine arrests in 1997. The number was 172 last year.
The statistics also contradict claims by marijuana advocates that hard drug usage is up because police eradication of marijuana makes it difficult to get the "softer" marijuana.
In the last six years, marijuana plants seized have varied from a low of 139,336 in 1996 to a high of 261,958 in 1997, with no trend visible. Seizures were 215,352 in 1999, then dropped to 106,639 last year.
Chief James Correa pointed out that Guam has no marijuana eradication program, but the availability of marijuana there hasn't stopped an "extensive" problem with crystal meth.
"(Police) don't have time for marijuana. They're too busy with 'ice,'" he said.
The profits in the drug business can be huge.
A pound of "black tar" heroin bought for $500 in Mexico can sell for $32,000 in Hawaii. Crystal meth can sell for $40,000 per pound.
Hawaii County