We have a serious drug problem in this community, in this state and in this country. For 40 years, America has been pointing the finger at individual drug users in an ill-advised “War on Drugs.” Our borders are dangerous, our
We have a serious drug problem in this community, in this state and in this country. For 40 years, America has been pointing the finger at individual drug users in an ill-advised “War on Drugs.”
Our borders are dangerous, our jails are full and our citizens are angry.
In the latest local battle of that war, the Kaua‘i Police Department, in cooperation with the Drug Enforcement Agency, last month conducted Operation Green Harvest, a multiple-day helicopter sting that saw officers swoop in and confiscate a mere 75 marijuana plants.
If there were any marijuana growers that weren’t wise to the whole operation before it happened — and judging by the paltry numbers, most dealers knew what was coming — the only discouragement they received was in the form of profit loss as no arrests were made.
The operation cost $27,000 in helicopter fees plus untold amounts in manpower. The noisy low-flying choppers also irritated law-abiding, tax-paying citizens — especially on the North Shore.
Isn’t this clearly a waste of our time and money? Is this the best plan we can come up with?
But, like we said, you can’t solve problems by pointing fingers.
We know that the Kaua‘i Police Department and Chief Darryl Perry are doing the best they can with the hand they’ve been dealt and we understand that it’s not as if they can simply trade in their Green Harvest grant money from the DEA for more patrol officers, more informants, more resources, better equipment or more prosecuting attorneys. Their options are limited.
But KPD’s earnest enforcement should not prevent us from criticizing poor policies. It’s high time we recognized that the “War on Drugs” has long since been decided. We lost.
This shift in direction was reflected this month in the decisions made by our country’s new drug czar, Gil Kerlikowske. In interviews with media this week, he said, “We should stop using the war metaphor. We should stop comparing this to a war and be much smarter about how we are dealing with it — and in a much more comprehensive way.”
We agree. Let’s put more thought into what we’re doing and how we’re doing it.
Let’s refocus the money, including the grant that funds Green Harvest, on fighting the hard core drugs that cause significantly more damage to society like meth, crack and heroine.
Let’s give the local police departments the money they need to accomplish their true mission, keeping our society safe, not some feel-good operation that produces negligible results.
That grant money could have instead gone toward putting an undercover cop on the street, for instance.
Let’s redirect some of the pot-fighting funding to severely strengthen drug prevention and rehabilitation efforts.
We should be treating drug abuse like the disease it is instead of the crime it isn’t.
We can help too. Parents, be responsible for your kids. Try to know where they’re at and what they’re doing. Be involved in your children’s lives.
Adults should set an example and be responsible for their actions. We’re a society, a community. We can help the police department fight drugs by doing our part. Let’s live healthy lives and raise the bar for the next generation.
Hawai‘i County voters got it right when they told their police to ratchet down the rhetoric on marijuana and put the focus and the funds into more important issues.
That’s not finger-pointing, that’s problem-solving.
