Lt. Governor Aiona acknowledges that drug fight is a big one

The first round of Mayor Bryan Baptiste’s drug summit meetings ended in Waimea Saturday with a speech from Lieutenant Governor James “Duke” Aiona.

Aiona, a former family and circuit court judge assigned to the “career criminal” and “sex offender” units and a drug court judge, acknowledged that a majority of criminal cases are drug-related and there’s a lot of work to be done. He said he hopes that people can start focusing more on what can actually be done, using buzzwords like “community development” and “coordination.”

Aiona said he is helping draft a strategic plan aligned in many ways with President George W. Bush’s National Drug Control Policy.

With talks in legislature regarding “three strikes” laws, mandatory minimum sentencing and construction of more prison facilities, Aiona said after 12 years of experience as a judge he knows the potential aftereffects.

“With mandatory sentencing, it’s locking them up with a specific period of time. What you’re saying is we give up on this person, lock them away,” Aiona said, acknowledging that in some cases, long prison terms might be necessary. “If we tie the hands of the judiciary, then we lose a lot more, as a community,” he continued.

Collaboration between professionals, police department, public defenders, care providers and community organizations is important and needed to organize a drug court, which assists non-violent drug offenders in getting treatment and counseling instead of imprisonment.

“What’s really disheartening is that we are really getting people at the tail end. If we gotta treat someone that means that person went through substance and alcohol abuse,” Aiona said that he’s seen people in their 60s come through drug court. Kauai’s drug court is still being set up, and would offer alternatives to imprisonment for first-time, non-violent drug offenders.

Aiona concluded with speaking about a strategic drug control plan that focuses heavily on prevention and education, resulting in “distorting the distribution of drugs.”

Preventive tools could include drug testing in public schools, which are already being conducted across the countrynthe idea drew considerable applause from the audience. “Legislators didn’t even want to give it the time of day,” he said of the proposal. Test results would be confidential, would not result in punishment and would shift the burden of responsibility back to parents, who could decide what to donoptions could include counseling, he said. Such testing in private schools like Mid-Pacific Institute may soon be implemented.

Aiona stressed that Kauai communities “find alternatives to our traditional means of thinking basketball, soccernthat’s great, but there’s a group of kids who are interested in culture and the arts, the ocean,” he offered. He also reminded the meeting-goers that many activities can be organized that don’t cost money.

Also speaking was Hawaii Regional Poison Control Center medical director Dr. Alvin C. Bronstein, from the Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center. Bronstein spoke about clandestine methamphetamine labs in Hawaii. Read The Garden Island for a report on poisonings from drugs and drug labs in Hawaii.

Staff Writer Kendyce Manguchei can be reached at mailto:kmanguchei@pulitzer.net or 245-3681 (ext. 252).

Ideas for anti-drug activities from West Kauai:

• large groups of churchgoers and community members could circle in front of known drug dealers’ houses; the non-confrontational approach would hopefully dissuade them from drug activity
• Join the West Kauai Community Coalition, which already organizes community projects and groups
• Holding classes for parents to learn about drugs, parenting skills and other issues
• Mentoring programs for youth
• Mentoring programs for parents, victims of drug-related crimes and drug users
• Organizing a “citizens’ patrol” group that could be called “Kauaians Against Drug Abuse”
• Giving more support to the KPDnand accepting that the community cannot know all of their enforcement tactics