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The episode examines whether the United States and Hawaii are succeeding in their anti-drug efforts, and what policy changes are warranted. Dan Bent, a former U.S. Attorney for Hawaii and author of the Drug Dealer Liability Act, argued that national survey data showed illegal drug use had fallen sharply since the late 1970s, that criminal enforcement remained essential because the threat of arrest was often the only effective lever pushing addicts into treatment, and that relaxing prohibition would amount to an unacceptable surrender. Don Topping, a University of Hawaii professor of linguistics and director of the Social Science Research Institute, disputed whether surveys accurately captured hard-core addiction rates, argued that criminalizing drug use pushed addicts further beyond the reach of help, and called for redirecting resources from law enforcement toward education and treatment. Topping declined to call for full legalization, framing his position as a call for reform. The concrete question at issue is whether current criminal prohibition of illegal drugs is producing meaningful public health gains in Hawaii, or whether a significant shift in resources — from enforcement to treatment and education — would produce better outcomes.
Transcript
Read or download the full transcript (.txt). Speaker labels were assigned automatically and may contain errors.
Companion newspaper commentaries
Commentaries by the guests, published in The Honolulu Advertiser around the broadcast.
