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HAWAII: ACT 161 DRUG LAW CALLED IN QUESTION
WAILUKU, Hawaii -- A judge and Maui County's prosecutor questioned the effectiveness of the state's Act 161 Wednesday evening, and said funds would be better spent going straight to the Maui, Hawaii Drug Court.
Second Circuit Judge Shackley Raffetto told members of the Joint House-Senate Task Force on Ice and Drug Abatement that the Maui, Hawaii Drug Court had a lower recidivism rate, at 24 percent, than the Act 161 program, and that it should receive more funding from the state of Hawaii.
"If you want to affect recidivism with a minimum amount of money in a short period of time, this is the way to do it," he said.
The legislative task force held a hearing in the Council Chambers of the Kalana O Maui building Wednesday as part of a series of sessions around the state of Hawaii to get input on the effectiveness of state laws on drug abuse in Hawaii.
Raffetto noted that the Maui, Hawaii Drug Court, which offers nonviolent offenders of drug-related crimes a choice between prison and successful completion of an intensive treatment program, is heavily supported by county and federal funds.
"County support and federal support tends to be transitional," he said. "These programs need to be institutionalized so they receive reliable support from the Legislature."
He said there are about 750 felonies committed in Maui County, Hawaii each year.
"In my view, about 80 percent of them are related to ice or other drugs," he said. "People who break into your car, they're not doing that to pay their mortgage. They're doing that to support an ice habit."
County Prosecutor Davelynn Tengan said Act 161, a state law set up last year to mandate treatment for nonviolent offenders, is not as effective and doesn't provide as much support to prosecutors as does the Maui, Hawaii Drug Court.
Under Act 161, people convicted of nonviolent, drug-related crimes are ordered to undergo treatment and allowed to go on probation rather than being sent to prison in Hawaii.
But while the law orders offenders to receive treatment, the state of Hawaii does not provide adequate funds to support that treatment, and many of the offenders are placed on waiting lists, neither receiving help nor being removed from society, she said.
"They're not beating the addiction," she said, and offenders continue to commit crimes while on probation.
Speakers before the task force said the state of Hawaii should do more to relieve the county of the burden of paying for expensive medical treatment for drug and alcohol abusers.
"The county can't really afford to pay for a lot of the services we're providing now," said Housing and Human Concerns Director Alice Lee.
In addition to paying a substantial amount of the bill for the Maui, Hawaii Drug Court's basic programs, the county is fully supporting a Drug Court program for incarcerated men and a similar program for women to be launched next month.
In addition, the county is creating a Drug Court program for juveniles.
"At some point, we're really going to need your help in supporting that Drug Court," Lee told legislators.
She said that with experts recognizing drug and alcohol addiction as a chronic disease, a wider variety of programs should be available for addicts, similar to the variety of treatments available to someone coping with cancer or any other long-term illness.
"Our belief is one size doesn't fit all," she said.
Some suggested "creative," cost-free ideas to lawmakers but stressed that money was the biggest need for programs dealing with drug abuse.
"Just moving money around and implementing budget-neutral recommendations will not do the job," said Jud Cunningham, administrator of Aloha House and Malama Family Recovery Center.
He said plenty of "lip service" had been paid to integrating families into substance abuse treatment, but funds had not been provided for family-based treatment programs.
"We need to treat the whole family, not just the deviant member," he said.
Gail Gnazzo of Maui Youth and Family Services said rural areas of Hawaii are generally underfunded, in spite of the fact that they lead the state in teen substance abuse. She said there was a "misconception about rural areas being safe and a good place to raise your kids."
She added that the number of funded beds for inpatient treatment for children and teens was far below what has been needed.
"My humble opinion is the State of Hawaii is using a thimble to bail out our ice boat," she said.
Since June, the House-Senate task force has met to investigate and discuss ideas for fighting "ice" and other forms of drug addiction in Hawaii.
Drug abuse is also the focus of a series of town-hall "talk story" sessions being held around the state by Gov. Linda Lingle and Lt. Gov. Duke Aiona. Lingle will conduct a forum on Maui at 4 p.m. Saturday at the Royal Lahaina Resort.
WAILUKU, Hawaii -- A judge and Maui County's prosecutor questioned the effectiveness of the state's Act 161 Wednesday evening, and said funds would be better spent going straight to the Maui, Hawaii Drug Court.
Second Circuit Judge Shackley Raffetto told members of the Joint House-Senate Task Force on Ice and Drug Abatement that the Maui, Hawaii Drug Court had a lower recidivism rate, at 24 percent, than the Act 161 program, and that it should receive more funding from the state of Hawaii.
"If you want to affect recidivism with a minimum amount of money in a short period of time, this is the way to do it," he said.
The legislative task force held a hearing in the Council Chambers of the Kalana O Maui building Wednesday as part of a series of sessions around the state of Hawaii to get input on the effectiveness of state laws on drug abuse in Hawaii.
Raffetto noted that the Maui, Hawaii Drug Court, which offers nonviolent offenders of drug-related crimes a choice between prison and successful completion of an intensive treatment program, is heavily supported by county and federal funds.
"County support and federal support tends to be transitional," he said. "These programs need to be institutionalized so they receive reliable support from the Legislature."
He said there are about 750 felonies committed in Maui County, Hawaii each year.
"In my view, about 80 percent of them are related to ice or other drugs," he said. "People who break into your car, they're not doing that to pay their mortgage. They're doing that to support an ice habit."
County Prosecutor Davelynn Tengan said Act 161, a state law set up last year to mandate treatment for nonviolent offenders, is not as effective and doesn't provide as much support to prosecutors as does the Maui, Hawaii Drug Court.
Under Act 161, people convicted of nonviolent, drug-related crimes are ordered to undergo treatment and allowed to go on probation rather than being sent to prison in Hawaii.
But while the law orders offenders to receive treatment, the state of Hawaii does not provide adequate funds to support that treatment, and many of the offenders are placed on waiting lists, neither receiving help nor being removed from society, she said.
"They're not beating the addiction," she said, and offenders continue to commit crimes while on probation.
Speakers before the task force said the state of Hawaii should do more to relieve the county of the burden of paying for expensive medical treatment for drug and alcohol abusers.
"The county can't really afford to pay for a lot of the services we're providing now," said Housing and Human Concerns Director Alice Lee.
In addition to paying a substantial amount of the bill for the Maui, Hawaii Drug Court's basic programs, the county is fully supporting a Drug Court program for incarcerated men and a similar program for women to be launched next month.
In addition, the county is creating a Drug Court program for juveniles.
"At some point, we're really going to need your help in supporting that Drug Court," Lee told legislators.
She said that with experts recognizing drug and alcohol addiction as a chronic disease, a wider variety of programs should be available for addicts, similar to the variety of treatments available to someone coping with cancer or any other long-term illness.
"Our belief is one size doesn't fit all," she said.
Some suggested "creative," cost-free ideas to lawmakers but stressed that money was the biggest need for programs dealing with drug abuse.
"Just moving money around and implementing budget-neutral recommendations will not do the job," said Jud Cunningham, administrator of Aloha House and Malama Family Recovery Center.
He said plenty of "lip service" had been paid to integrating families into substance abuse treatment, but funds had not been provided for family-based treatment programs.
"We need to treat the whole family, not just the deviant member," he said.
Gail Gnazzo of Maui Youth and Family Services said rural areas of Hawaii are generally underfunded, in spite of the fact that they lead the state in teen substance abuse. She said there was a "misconception about rural areas being safe and a good place to raise your kids."
She added that the number of funded beds for inpatient treatment for children and teens was far below what has been needed.
"My humble opinion is the State of Hawaii is using a thimble to bail out our ice boat," she said.
Since June, the House-Senate task force has met to investigate and discuss ideas for fighting "ice" and other forms of drug addiction in Hawaii.
Drug abuse is also the focus of a series of town-hall "talk story" sessions being held around the state by Gov. Linda Lingle and Lt. Gov. Duke Aiona. Lingle will conduct a forum on Maui at 4 p.m. Saturday at the Royal Lahaina Resort.
