Hawaii saw more — and purer — crystal methamphetamine on its streets in 2010 at a time when prices were plummeting, leading to concerns that Hawaii’s "ice" problem needs new approaches.

Hawaii’s average 98.9 percent purity of its 2010 meth supply — combined with prices that dropped from $5,000 per ounce in 2004 to $1,800 to $2,800 per ounce — are "classic indicators of an increase in meth availability in the community," according to a new study by the Hawaii High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, which is part of the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

The dual trends of increasing meth purity and cheaper street prices worry city Prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro. "The high purity of ice is an indication that greater quantities of the drug are available. That’s just not acceptable. It also means that the drug is even more physically damaging and dangerous, and that’s not acceptable, either," Kaneshiro said.

"Drugs are now a global problem, and we have to understand that we can’t just keep processing drug cases as we have been doing," he said. "That doesn’t solve the problem. We have to go after the source of drugs."

Compared with all other drugs in the islands, according to the HIDTA report, "The trafficking and abuse of crystal methamphetamine is deemed to pose the greatest drug threat to the region due to its association with violent crimes, theft and widespread availability."

Joe Perez, the new executive director of the Hawaii Meth Project, attending an anti-meth rally at Roosevelt High School last week with 370 students, said he was struck by the cost of meth abuse in the islands.

"I was surrounded by all these kids and thinking about that $500 million annual cost," Perez said. "For the four years they’ll be in high school, that adds up to $2 billion in meth costs for Hawaii. That’s a pretty significant figure."

The overall cost of meth abuse in Hawaii, according to the report, adds up to $500 million each year for incarceration, foster care, health care, lost employee productivity and treatment.

On Oct. 27 and 28, Kaneshiro will host an international drug-trafficking enforcement summit focusing on crystal methamphetamine and its main ingredient, ephedrine.

"Asia has now become the primary source of ephedrine, the primary ingredient in methamphetamine," Kaneshiro said. "The summit’s goal is to lay the groundwork for possible future legal partnerships designed to stem the manufacture and distribution of illegal drugs, specifically meth."

The HIDTA report also found that:

» Hawaii’s main sources of ice come from California, Las Vegas, other Western states and Mexico. Mexican organizations have replaced Asian drug-trafficking groups in dominating Hawaii’s wholesale meth market.

» Downtown Honolulu, Waikiki and Chinatown are the primary targets of retail meth sales. Prison and street gangs are also involved in ice trafficking in prisons and government housing projects such as Kuhio Park Terrace and elsewhere in Kalihi and Chinatown.

» Outlaw motorcycle gangs have recently expanded their drug activity into Hawaii.

» Ice seizures since 2004 are at an all-time high. But law-enforcement interdiction efforts continue to be hampered by the massive influx of travelers and parcels at Honolulu Airport and Honolulu Harbor, where there’s "too much flow and limited resources to check everything."

» In 2005, Hawaii’s 75 percent of meth-related federal prosecutions were only fourth in the country. In 2009, 90 percent of Hawaii’s federal drug prosecutions were meth-related, making the islands No. 1 in the nation.

» Asian and Pacific Rim nationals, local Pacific Islanders and Caucasians continue to be involved in drug-related financing and money-laundering operations. They use illegal gambling houses, illegal and legitimate massage parlors, nail salons, construction companies, cleaning services and sundry shops to conceal drug activity and proceeds.

At Farrington High School, 16-year-old junior Grace Nikaido was shocked by the student turnout when she formed an anti-crystal methamphetamine club at the start of this school year.

The "Not Even Once" club — named after the Hawaii Meth Project’s anti-meth campaign — is the first of its kind in the islands, according to the Hawaii Meth Project, which has organized 15 teen advisory council members across the state.

Nikaido expected to see five, maybe 10, Farrington students at the club’s first meeting.

Instead, Nikaido found herself confronted by 100 students who wanted to join her club and she had to scramble to find a bigger room for their first meeting.

On Sept. 20, a week later, a 17-year-old Farrington student with an apparent history of meth use hung herself.

As news of the girl’s suicide spread across the Farrington campus, Nikaido suddenly found herself with a total of 170 students in her fledgling club.

"I was super surprised," Nikaido said. "I didn’t think so many people would be interested because not many people know about meth. Most people at my school are like, ‘It’s Hawaii. We don’t do meth here.’ But when something happens (like a meth-related suicide), it makes it real."

The family of the dead girl was planning for her funeral on Saturday and did not respond to requests for an interview on her death.

Out of 107 autopsies performed on people who died of drug-related deaths between Jan. 1, 2010, and March 19, 2011, 34 — or nearly 32 percent — were meth-related, according to the HIDTA report.

Surveys conducted by the Hawaii Meth Project show that 54 percent of Hawaii teenagers and 73 percent of young adults believe that using ice just once or twice "poses a great risk," the report said.

The Hawaii Meth Project continues to focus its efforts on Hawaii youth ages 12 through 20, said Perez, the organization’s executive director.

"We want to influence decision-making before a young person ruins their life," he said.