Illicit Drug use in the Asia Pacific Region - Burnet Institute

Situational analysis of illicit drug issues and responses in the Asia–Pacific region
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A14 .1 Narrative summary
of drug vulnerabilities
Geography
Reports and key informants have suggested
that the geographical proximity of the Pacific
to illicit drug-producing countries, such as
in East Asia, facilitates illicit drug trade . Additionally,
the isolation of the coastal regions
offers useful transit points for drugs (Drug
Enforcement Administration, Intelligence
Division, 2004; Nejo, 2001; United Nations
Office on Drugs and Crime, 2003) . Moreover,
the terrain of the Pacific makes it very difficult
for effective government administration of all
territories and creates challenges for effective
law enforcement . Transport across the region
is problematic, except in cases such as Fiji,
which is the regional air and sea entrepot,
and in independent territories where transport
services are heavily subsidised (Drug Enforcement
Administration, Intelligence Division,
2004; Nejo, 2001; United Nations Office on
Drugs and Crime, 2003) .
The region has developed as a world tourist
destination, particularly Fiji, Vanuatu, New
Caledonia, Guam and French Polynesia . Subsequently,
expansion of transportation links
with Asia and North and South America have
produced fears that the islands will be used
more as transhipment routes for trafficking
(Nejo, 2001) .
Population growth and urbanisation
More than 35 per cent of the people of the
Pacific Islands live in towns and the rate of
urban population growth throughout most
of the region is high (World Bank, 2000) .
Key drivers for this trend are: declining
agricultural commodity prices, livelihood
opportunities, insufficient rural land to
confer social standing, as well as prospect of
cash employment, educational opportunities
and the intrinsic excitement of urban areas
(World Bank, 2000) . Despite the many
benefits of urbanisation, there is concern
about the growth of town areas, including
effect on customary traditions and relationships,
providing and maintaining public
infrastructure and services, proliferation of
informal settlements, worsening environmental
conditions and increasing social
problems associated with unemployment
and under-employment, which include drug
use and abuse (World Bank, 2000) .
Youth population
The Pacific countries under review have a
growing youth population . Experience from
elsewhere suggests this group is susceptible
to licit and illicit drug use and abuse
and its concomitant social and economic
consequences . Moreover, low literacy rates in
some countries and the lack of education and
employment opportunities further increase
the vulnerability of the Pacific societies
towards substance abuse . A quote taken
from Save the Children (Australia) (2004)
highlights this point, ‘they [young people]
are still living in fear, with hopelessness, not
knowing what their future will be like . The
boys especially turn to drugs, that is their
only solution’ (peer educator, Guadalcanal)
(Save the Children Australia, 2004) .
Historical and cultural interactions
with drugs
Pacific societies have a tradition of drug use,
incorporated into culture . A range of psychoactive
substances, including betel nut and
kava have been used traditionally across the
Pacific region (Posanau, 1997) . Rapid socioeconomic
changes have led to changing
patterns of consumption of these and other
licit and illicit substances and the potential
for abuse (Nejo, 2001) . Trends have emerged
towards the use of drugs such as cannabis
and crystal methamphetamine (‘ice’) . Cannabis
is the primary illicit substance of abuse
across the region . It is believed that cannabis
was introduced into parts of Micronesia and
Papua New Guinea by expatriates in the
1960s and 1970s (Nejo, 2001) . The illicit
use of cannabis spread to indigenous population
groups, significantly youth, during the
1970s and 1980s . Heroin was thought to be
introduced into Micronesia in the 1960s and
1970s (Nejo, 2001) . In 1984–1985 there was
serious heroin abuse in Palau with 50 people
receiving professional treatment and several
imprisoned for trafficking of heroin from the
Philippines and Thailand (Drug Enforcement
Administration, Intelligence Division, 2004;
Nejo, 2001; United Nations Office on Drugs
and Crime, 2003) . There are still reports of
people using heroin in Palau, however it is
not seen as a major concern today .
A14 .2 Prevalence of drug use
Population estimates of drug use
A number of case studies have been conducted
in a couple of Pacific countries, for example,
in Papua New Guinea (Johnson, 1990, 1994,
1998), Vanuatu (McMurray, 2001) and
Tonga (McMurray, 2003) The results from
these studies are not reported as population
estimates for drug use in the Pacific Island
countries under review as they are often outdated,
use qualitative methods or use small
convenient samples .
Other estimates: expert opinions
While the severity of drug abuse is purported
to vary between the six island countries
listed for this review, use of the illicit drug
of concern, cannabis, is the same . According
to key informants, cannabis is the illicit drug
of choice for people living in the countries
under review, due mainly to its availability
and low cost (Drug Enforcement Administration,
Intelligence Division, 2004) . Key
informants suggested that drugs such as
heroin, methamphetamines and cocaine
are not commonly used due to their high
cost compared to the average income (Drug
Enforcement Administration, Intelligence
Division, 2004; Nejo, 2001; United Nations
Office on Drugs and Crime, 2003) .
Injecting drug use in the Pacific is believed
to be very small (personal communication,
May 2005) . Heroin was being used in Palau
in 1984–1985 . More recently, methamphetamines
(and other illicit drugs) are being
used in the more affluent countries of the
United States and French territories (Drug
Enforcement Administration, Intelligence
Division, 2004; Nejo, 2001; United Nations
Office on Drugs and Crime, 2003) .
Population estimates are not available, so
only modest suggestions can be made as
to the trends in drug use in the six research
countries . The symbols used in Table A14 .2
represent: use that is reported to be substantial
(+) and increasing use (↑) . The data have
been derived from a number of sources: key
informants, group interview, and a number
of regional overviews (Drug Enforcement
Administration, Intelligence Division, 2004;
Nejo, 2001; United Nations Office on Drugs
and Crime, 2003) and have been validated
by external reviewers .
Data collection systems in place
Formal surveillance systems for drug use and
abuse in the Pacific are not in place .
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Country profiles: Pacific overview