METH use in Fiji falls under a rare category where users prefer using needles.
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) regional co-ordinator for organised crime analysis and threat monitoring Inshik Sim said in most countries that had a meth problem, they did not have this issue.
He correlated this trend with the high number of HIV cases in the country, where 85 of 552 cases in the first half of 2024 were attributed to injection use.
“We have talked to the Fiji Forensic Chemistry Unit, and they confirm that they collect discarded syringes in the streets, and (when) they test it, it tests positive for methamphetamine.”
The issue of Fiji’s widespread syringe use — and its impacts — is detailed in the UNODC report titled Transnational Organised Crime in the Pacific: Expansion, Challenges, and Impact, which was launched in Suva yesterday.
MOST countries that have a meth problem do not experience issues with widespread syringe use.
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) regional coordinator for organised crime analysis and threat monitoring Inshik Sim stressed this while discussing the UNODC report titled Transnational Organised Crime in the Pacific: Expansion, Challenges and Impact in Suva yesterday.
Mr Sim expressed concern about the pace at which meth use in Fiji had grown over the past years, and how easily the drug was made available to the people.
“The impact is quite significant, especially in Fiji that I see there are some meth user populations in Fiji that use injecting methods, which is really rare,” he said.
“In most countries that have a meth problem, (they) do not have this issue. I would say Japan and my home country, South Korea, have these issues.
“Normally people don’t want to put needles and syringes in their bodies, but Fiji has these issues.
“We have talked to Fiji Forensic Chemistry Unit, and they confirm that they collect discarded syringes in the streets, and they test it. It tests positive for methamphetamine.”
The issue also correlates with the high number of new HIV cases recorded in the country. In the first half of this year, 552 cases were recorded, of which 85 were attributed to syringe use.
Mr Sim has called on Pacific leaders to update legislation as it was outdated.
“These things, new substances emerge in the market really fast, and the Pacific is behind.”
