A serious need for addiction treatment on Kauai

With addiction to prescription painkillers on the rise in Hawaii, state lawmakers have responded with legislation that requires patient counseling on the risks of opioid medications, and limits prescriptions. But because pills are now harder to get, some addicts are turning to dicey street drugs, like black tar heroin. That’s the worrisome assessment on Kauai, where police seized 526 grams last year — up from less than 1 gram in 2015.

The Garden Isle’s first on-island treatment facility is slated to open this year. Here’s hoping it helps halt addiction, which can start — unless carefully watched — with even a basic prescription for an injury.

A high-tech sheen to buying medical cannabis

Cure Oahu, the newest Oahu medical cannabis dispensary that’s opening in Kapahulu, is adapting a template already established: Invest the money to create a setting that looks clinical and tech-y and as far from marijuana kitsch as possible.

In a refurbished Bank of Hawaii building, this dispensary aims to set itself apart with consultation booths and information stations, as well as online ordering. This is why the dispensary executives were so steamed when illicit distribution of the drug was going on at a recent cannabis expo. That kind of takes the gloss off the whole thing.