rp21 situational analysis - Pacific Health Voices

trafficking and terrorist financing and the
United States of America has identified
so-called systemic weaknesses in the Cook
Islands. Since being recorded as a noncooperative
territory in 2000, the Cook
Islands has moved toward compliance with
international guidelines for regulating the
offshore financial sector, introducing regulations
and licensing to manage the sector. 153
The strengthening of these systems may make
the Cook Islands a less than viable option as
a drugs transhipment point.
A single reported judgment from 1987 relating
to drug offences in the Cook Islands
was identified from the Pacific Islands Legal
Information Institute (PacLII) website. The
judgment considered chain-of-evidence issues
and highlighted a limited capacity for modern
chemical laboratory testing to identify drugs
in the Cook Islands at the time. 154 Notably,
the police officer involved in the testing process
had participated in an internationally
sponsored conference on testing. It is not
clear what further progress has been made
in this area.
Cannabis
In contrast to the Islands-based communities,
illicit drug use trends are well reported among
Cook Islands Maori resident in New Zealand
as a significant minority group. Research indicates
that similar proportions of men (24 per
cent) and women (19 per cent) had used
marijuana in the past 12 months, with the
population average at 21 per cent. Thirty per
cent of non-users reported they did not use
marijuana because they did not like it and 15
per cent because they did not like the smell
of it. Other drug use was limited to only a
very small number of men and women who
had used stimulants, LSD, mushrooms and
ecstasy. 155 Further investigation is required to
determine if these trends are mirrored among
island-based populations.
Other
No data or reports with respect to other
types of illicit drug consumption have been
identified for the Cook Islands.
37
153 US State Department, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Major
Money Laundering Countries: International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, available at:
(accessed December 2008).
154 Eipuatirare Arthur v Police [1987] CKHC 2, marijuana-related offence (High Court of the Cook
Islands). Available on Pacific Islands Legal Information Institute website: (accessed December 2008).
155 Pacific Research and Development Services & SHORE (2003), Pacific Drugs and Alcohol
Consumption Survey: Cook Islands Maori Fact Sheet. Auckland: SHORE.
Cook Islands