Aiona advises
keeping kids busyThe state's plan to get kids
away from drugs includes offering
more extracurricular options
The state is targeting public middle school students in the battle against crystal methamphetamine, or "ice."
Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona said the state wants to increase the number of athletic and other extracurricular activities for those public school students to steer them away from drug and alcohol abuse.
Private middle school students in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu can participate in almost as many sports as their high school counterparts, he said.
"But the (public) middle schools are where I think there's a lot of research and studies we're lacking in that regard," Aiona said.
The proposal is one of several suggested "quick fix" measures Aiona unveiled yesterday to fulfill some recommendations made after a three-day drug summit in September.
Other quick fixes include implementing a comprehensive drug prevention and educational program for students in all grades, providing more treatment and services for prison inmates moving back into the community, toughening sentencing laws and giving law enforcement more tools to combat drug dealers.
Aiona said the administration will have proposals for state lawmakers to consider when the Legislature convenes in January. The administration, however, has yet to say how it will pay for proposals that require funding.
The state attorney general's office and the Public Safety Department are putting the final touches on legislative proposals.
Attorney General Mark Bennett said those proposals would include "sentencing reform" for repeat offenders, although such measures would not be as strict as "three strikes" legislation for habitual offenders in California.
Aiona said he also continues to work with the Joint House-Senate Task Force on Ice and Drug Abatement on a proposal from last session to establish some form of mandatory drug testing for school students.
In the long term, Aiona said there were 11 proposals developed at September's summit that ad-hoc committees were being formed to address.
Some of those proposals included:
>> Establishing community-based, state-supported collaboration that will strengthen and expand services that are culturally sensitive.>> Providing adequate funding for substance abuse treatment to all people who need and want it.
>> Creating an emergency fund for treatment with assets from drug forfeitures.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
