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<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> National Institute on Drug Abuse <br /> 1991-1994 Final Report <br /> ICE and Other Methamphetamine Use: An Exploratory Study <br /> (Entire report has been removed from the N.I.D.A. website) <br /> <br /> Highlights of the effects of marijuana eradication on the'ice' problem: <br /> <br /> "The use of ice in Honolulu had led to particularly serious physical and <br /> psychological problems and significant social disruption in poor working <br /> communities where it replaced marijuana which had become scarce and <br /> expensive due to eradication policies." (From the summary of findings) <br /> "There are thought to be several influences on the tremendous growth of ice in <br /> Honolulu after 1987. Residents were both pushed away from pakalolo, their <br /> staple drug of choice, and pulled toward ice by a well-organized marketing <br /> campaign by Asian distributors. Also, the overwhelming smokable drug of <br /> choice, marijuana or pakalolo, which has been grown and used throughout the <br /> islands for many years, became the target of a government eradication campaign. <br /> This drove up prices, drastically reduced availability and left locals without their <br /> customary, and many would say relatively benign, smoke. Also very " <br /> importantly, many locals derived either part or all of their livelihood from <br /> marijuana production. Robbed of this needed income many experienced <br /> considerable economic hardship: Thus when anew, easy to use, smokable <br /> product entered the market, one which at first felt non-threatening to youthful <br /> novitiates - ice, it was readily accepted as a product to be used and sold. Initial <br /> users were often likely to think of it as a substitute of sorts for pakalolo." <br /> (Page 22) <br /> "An important finding emerging from this study concerned the effect on <br /> individuals and communities from the scarcity of marijuana due to the <br /> eradication campaigns. Users often reported this was a major contribution to the <br /> increase in the use of meth especially in Honolulu. In many communities it had <br /> a devastating effect As one respondent reported: <br /> <br /> The ice use on the Waianae coast is greater than a lot of other places in the state. <br /> This is like a central distribution center for ice. It's a known fact among the drug <br /> addicts and users on the island. It's easier to get than weed. It's not much more <br /> expensive than weed either. The amount of people here that use ice is increasing <br /> because people who couldn't find weed were starting to find ice easier. Plenty <br /> guys I know use ice because they cant get pot I'd rather see them smoking <br /> pakalolo cause they were mellow, nice people. On ice, they change into robbing <br /> houses and carrying guns in less than one month. Things they never did on <br /> weed. " (Page 123) <br /> <br /> "Moreover, successful periodic campaigns designed to eliminate this "evil" herb, <br /> serve to steer the user to more dangerous substances. Findings presented in <br /> Chapter 7 on the social consequences of ice in Honolulu demonstrated that the <br /> latest version of the American campaign against marijuana continues to have the <br /> same unfortunate consequences." (Page 163) <br />