Illicit Drug use in the Asia Pacific Region - Burnet Institute

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Situational analysis of illicit drug issues and responses in the Asia–Pacific region 302 Table A14 .2 . Drug use in Pacific countries by drug type PNG Fiji Solomon Islands Vanuatu Samoa Tonga Micronesia Cannabis Inhalants +↑ +↑ + + (less evident) +↑ + +↑ Methamphetamines +↑ Heroin + Cocaine ? maybe + Prescription drugs + + + + Source: key informants A14 .3 Drug supply, production, availability, cost and trade Cannabis Cannabis is the drug the region is known to produce . The Pacific environment provides ideal growing conditions for cannabis and allows for continuous year-round growing cultivation (Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, 2004) . Wild growth occurs in all of the countries listed for this review (Drug Enforcement Administration, Intelligence Division, 2004; Nejo, 2001; United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2003) . Limited options and market opportunities in the agricultural sector have resulted in illicit cultivation of cannabis, predominantly for domestic consumption (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2003) . According to Ware (2001), cannabis is considered a convenient cash crop which requires little to no tending; it has no season, and is ready to harvest in months, unlike coffee, which takes six years to mature . Illicit commercial cultivation of cannabis occurs in island states such as Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Samoa and Tonga (Drug Enforce- ment Administration, Intelligence Division, 2004; Nejo, 2001; United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2003) . According to key informants, cannabis cultivation is most significant in Papua New Guinea and Fiji . Historically, the majority of cannabis cultivation was undertaken by individuals or small groups within village environments . More recently, it is believed, in a number of jurisdictions in the Pacific, cannabis cultivation is being overtaken by organised criminal groups on a national basis (Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, 2004) . The development and greater organisation of the cannabis industry in recent times have resulted in an oversupply of cannabis to local markets (Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, 2004) . As such, cannabis has been exported to other markets in the region, for example, from Samoa to American Samoa and from Fiji to Tonga (Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, 2004) . The only documented international trading of drugs from the Pacific is of cannabis, from Papua New Guinea, trafficked mainly to Australia (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2003) . THC content of varieties known as ‘Spak Brus’ or ‘Niugini Gold’ are reported to be very high, some of the most potent cannabis in the world (Ware, 2001) . Niugini Gold is marketed as producing a ‘superlative high’ . Key informants suggested that the price of cannabis is variable and dependent on quality . In Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, the spak brus is readily available . A ‘roll’, a homemade cigarette weighing less than a gram, cost 6 cents in a village, 15 cents in a town, and up to 60 cents in Port Moresby (prices in US cents) . One source reported that ‘Niugini Gold’ was worth around AU$500 per 28 grams on the streets of Sydney (1 kg — $17,500) (Ware, 2001) . Another report (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2003) stated that 1 kilogram of cannabis purchased in Papua New Guinea costs about 300 kina (AU$300) . The wholesale price of this same quantity in Australia is AU$4500 . Of major concern to authorities is the trade of drugs for guns in Papua New Guinea . Guns such as the AK-47, SS1, AR-10 and M-203 are being brought into the country through the land border with Indonesia; on Southeast Asian ships; and in small numbers across the Torres Strait from Australia . Trading is usually done in coastal cities like Lae, Madang, Wewak or Port Moresby (Ware, 2001) . Crystal methamphetamine The Pacific Islands region is developing into a significant transit region and a potential consumption area for crystal methamphetamine (Drug Enforcement Administration, Intelligence Division, 2004) . The increasing significance of this was highlighted recently by the large seizure of crystal methamphetamine in Fiji (9 June 2004) (Drug Enforcement Administration, Intelligence Division, 2004) . The New Zealand Police Clandestine Laboratory (Clan Lab) Team and the Australian Federal Police Forensic Services Unit assisted the Fiji Police Force and the Fiji Customs Service in seizing a crystal methamphetamine ‘super laboratory’ . As a result, 5 kilograms of finished crystal methamphetamine, 700 litres of liquid methamphetamine and enough precursor chemicals to produce an additional 1000 kilograms of methamphetamine were seized . Six individuals were arrested . They were associated with an Asian organised crime group that had been operating throughout Southeast Asia (Drug Enforcement Administration, Intelligence Division, 2004) . The concern by authorities is that the development of the cannabis industry will allow for profits to be invested in other commodities such as the production of methamphetamines . Table A14 .3 . Commercial cultivation of cannabis in Pacific countries Home growing — personal use Commercial — domestic markets Commercial — export Papua New Guinea + + + Fiji + + + (small scale) Solomon Islands + Vanuatu + Samoa + + Tonga + + 303 Country profiles: Pacific overview
Situational analysis of illicit drug issues and responses in the Asia–Pacific region 304 Drug trafficking The major form of trafficking is transhipment, in which drugs produced elsewhere transit Pacific Islands for the destination market . The geographic position of countries in the Pacific region facilitates the drug trade, both eastbound and westbound throughout the region (Australian Crime Commission, 2003; Drug Enforcement Administration, Intelligence Division, 2004; Nejo, 2001; Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, 2004; United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2003) . South American cocaine is transported into Southeast Asia and Australia, while Southeast Asian heroin and methamphetamine are transported by couriers into Canada, and to a lesser extent into the United States (Australian Crime Commission, 2003; Drug Enforcement Administration, Intelligence Division, 2004; Nejo, 2001; Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, 2004; United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2003) . Drugs are trafficked through the Pacific by air and ship (Australian Crime Commission, 2003; Nejo, 2001) . There are an estimated 5000 vessels transiting the Pacific on any given day (Nejo, 2001) . Large shipments may be unloaded from a mother ship into a smaller vessel . The smaller vessel can subsequently move to an uninhabited island for transit to the next destination point . Expanding regional transportation links to Asia, as well as North and South America (Nejo, 2001) . The primary trafficking methods for crystal methamphetamine are body couriers on commercial airlines and parcel delivery services (Drug Enforcement Administration, Intelligence Division, 2004) . A major concern for the Pacific region is that, if large amounts of illicit drugs are moving through local communities, seepage of the drugs into local communities will result and the social impacts of drug dependency will be experienced (Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, 2004) . Drug seizures There have been reports of a number of large seizures in the region (see Table A14 .4) . Since the drug market in the region is small, shipments of large quantities are reported to indicate that the drugs are destined for larger markets (Nejo, 2001) . There have been discoveries of illicit drugs washed up on shores in countries within the region (Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, 2004) . The quantities found both on yachts and on shores indicate that trafficking is in bulk consignments and highly organised (Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, 2004) . Cocaine Availability and demand for cocaine remain limited in Oceania, with the exception of Australia . Seizures at the Australian border in 2001 doubled from the preceding year . Seizures have been made in recent years in Tonga and Fiji, and seizures in Australia have also indicated that the drugs transited some Pacific Islands (Australian Crime Commission, 2003; Drug Enforcement Administration, Intelligence Division, 2004; Nejo, 2001) . Heroin Large seizures of heroin have been made in Vanuatu and Fiji, destined for other markets (Nejo, 2001) . Crystal methamphetamine In recent years, crystal methamphetamine has been trafficked through the Pacific (Drug Enforcement Administration, Intelligence Division, 2004; Nejo, 2001; Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, 2004; United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2003) . Due to the proximity to China and the Philippines, and their international airports, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands are transit zones for crystal methamphetamine shipped to the United States West Coast and the Hawaiian Islands (Drug Enforcement Administration, Intelligence Division, 2004; Nejo, 2001; United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2003) . Moreover, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands are now considered consumer markets for crystal methamphetamine from China, Hong Kong, Japan, the Philippines, South Korea and Taiwan (Drug Enforcement Administration, Intelligence Division, 2004; Nejo, 2001; United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2003) . There have been seizures of crystal methamphetamine in Palau, Northern Mariana Islands (Drug Enforcement Administration, Intelligence Division, 2004; Nejo, 2001; United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2003) . A major concern from authorities is that the Pacific region is following the global trend towards ATS manufacture, importation and use (Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, 2004) . Precursor chemicals Another major concern for countries in the Pacific is insufficient legal power to control and prosecute the import and export of chemical precursors in the region (Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, 2004) . This issue is currently being addressed by the Oceania Customs Organisation (Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, 2004) . A recent case highlights this point . Pseudoephedrine was exported from a Pacific Island country to Australia and there were no legislative powers to prosecute for purchase, supply or export at the country of origin (Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, 2004) . Cannabis There have also been reports of large shipments of cannabis being trafficked from Pakistan, the Philippines and Thailand passing through New Caledonia and the Solomon Islands (Nejo, 2001) . Table A14 .4 . Seizures of illicit drugs in the Pacific, 2000–2002 Year Heroin Cocaine Cannabis Methamphetamine 2002 Vanuatu 150kg 2001 Tonga 100kg 2000 Fiji 357kg Fiji 0 .3kg Fiji 106 kg/H Fiji 0 .3kg Source: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2003 305 Country profiles: Pacific overview
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Illicit Drug use in the Asia Pacific Region - Burnet Institute

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