www.dpfhi.org/

P.O. Box 61233 - Honolulu, Hawai‘i 96839 - Voice & Fax To 808-988-4386

Friday, April 19, 2002

MEDIA ADVISORY

CONTACT: Pam Lichty @ 808 224-3056 or dmt@dpfhi.org

MEDIA CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED TO ENCOURAGE DRUG TREATMENT

Legislature Should Pass Senate Bill Which Would Mandate Treatment Over Incarceration

HONOLULU - The Drug Policy Forum of Hawai’i (DPFH) announced today that it is launching a television campaign to educate the public about the need for treatment instead of incarceration for non-violent drug law offenders. A press conference featuring retired Judge Masato Doi and Dancetta Feary Kamai, sister of the late Mackey Feary, will be held on Friday, April 19th at 9:30 a.m. in the auditorium of the state capitol. The two locally produced television spots with the theme "Treatment Works; Prisons Don't" will also be shown at the press conference. The 30 second ads feature two Hawai'i residents who have been affected in different ways by the Hawai'i drug laws. They are Retired Circuit Court Judge Masato Doi, who witnessed first hand the ineffectiveness of simply warehousing prisoners with drug problems, and Dancetta Feary Kamai, whose brother Mackey Feary, the well known Hawaiian entertainer, died in Halawa prison 3 years ago after being re-incarcerated for failing a drug test.

DPFH President Don Topping noted that a Senate-House conference committee is meeting this week to determine the fate of a bill (SB 1188), introduced by Governor Cayetano last Session, which would divert non-violent drug offenders to treatment. "Many states have enacted sentencing reforms in order to deal with the fiscal crises they are facing," said Dr. Topping. "Arizona and California have instituted changes via their public initiative process while many states have taken action in their state legislatures. Sentencing reform laws have passed in Alabama, Louisiana, Utah, Connecticut, Arkansas, and North Dakota and it is high time that Hawai'i became pro-active in this area as well."

The Department of Public Safety reports that more than 90% of the women and 85% of the men incarcerated need substance abuse treatment. At least 50% of those arrested and processed by Intake Services have substance abuse problems as well. The DPFH ads focus on the cost effectiveness of treatment compared to prisons with treatment averaging $10,000 per year versus incarceration at $32,000.