rp21 situational analysis - Pacific Health Voices

Situational analysis of drug and alcohol issues and responses in the Pacific
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crops and cleaning the village hall and pig
pens. 302 No data on the current rate of kava
consumption have been identified and, unlike
alcohol, statistics do not appear in expenditure
surveys. In addition, there is no
national legislation or regulation dealing
with kava.
The kava trade is a significant source of
income in Fiji, with the total number of kava
farmers reportedly peaking at 21 956 in 2004
and dropping back to 14 118 in 2005 due
to international market uncertainty. 303 Fiji
also imports kava from Vanuatu; reportedly,
domestic consumption is 21 times more than
exports, with lack of quality supply pushing
up imports.
Inhalants
Fijian police report approximately three cases
of glue-sniffing per day, per post, from a
total of 90 posts. 304 There is no regulation
or legislation to manage this issue and it
has been identified as a research priority by
the NSAAC.
4.5 Local responses
Legislation
Fiji’s Illicit Drugs Control Act 2004 is an
adaptation of the Regional Model Law on
the Control of Illicit Drugs. 305 Recent court
decisions suggest a tendency toward strict
penalties for cultivation, possession, use and/
or trafficking in illegal drugs in Fiji, with the
example of a farmer being convicted for five
years on a first offence for cultivation. 306
The Central Liquor Board is a division of
the Office of the Attorney-General in Fiji.
Fiji has enacted the Liquor Act 2006. The
original Liquor Act 1975, regulating the sale
and consumption of alcohol, was reviewed
in 2002–03. In 2004 it was reported there
was no national policy on alcohol and this
view was repeated again in 2008 by a key
informant. 307
In 2006 the Fiji Law Reform Commission announced
a review, under section 5(2) of the
Fiji Law Reform Commission Act, of the Penal
Code and Criminal Procedures Code. The review
considered reform recommendations on
crime and criminal offences, based on current
and future needs and circumstances in
302 Curfew, yaqona ban helping Fiji village, Fiji Times, 18 May 2008. Available at:
.
303 The perils of unmanaged export growth: the case of kava in Fiji: a paper by Naren Prasad,
Research Coordinator, United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) to
UNCTAD meeting, 11–13 December 2006.
304 Key informant, June 2009.
305 Fiji Islands legislation available at: (accessed May
2009).
306 High Court of Fiji, 16 September 2008: State v Saqayalo [2008] FJHC 229; State v Goneyali
[2008] FJHC 228; State v Chand [2008] FJHC 230.
307 Key informant interview, June 2009.