The revelation that some primary school students have admitted to trying methamphetamine or “ice” is cause for great concern. It is a serious space we are in right now.
More than 3000 students were referred from schools around Fiji to the National Substance Abuse Council (NSAAC) in 2023 alone with five admitting to trying ice!
We can talk about a lot of things around us that continue to impact our lives. We can talk about what is trending, and what people want to know about.
And that ranges from the Commission of Inquiry into the Barbara Malimali appointment as FICAC head, to the recently passed National Budget, the looming general elections, among other issues.
We reflect on infrastructure development for instance, our health sector, education, poverty, the frustration of power cuts and the damage that does to electrical appliances, and the concerning rise in HIV figures.
We certainly have a lot of issues that interest people.
Different people will obviously have different views of what constitutes news now.
They have an abundance of news sources and the ever presence of what’s trending on various portals on the internet.
In the face of all that, this issue of ice must attract interest.
In fact it should.
Why aren’t we screaming this from the rooftops? Why are we not serious and asking tough questions about the influence of illicit drugs? Why aren’t we angry, frustrated and vocal?
Our students are trying this for crying out loud!
They are experimenting with hard drugs.
It’s the way of the world obviously and this isn’t something new abroad. But we aren’t immune to the troubles of the world either.
We have to embrace workable solutions.
Late last year, NSAAC acting director Josua Naisele said the council was seeing a sharp rise in drug offences in primary schools alone for the past four years.
Of 385 cases recorded in 2021, we learn that this spiked to 1289 in 2022, then 1578 in 2023 from primary school students.
While most incidents involved marijuana and inhalants, 2023 marked the first time methamphetamine was detected in schools, with four confirmed secondary–school cases.
What is alarming is the revelation that some Year 8 students, about 12 or 13 years old, admitted to trying “ice” and marijuana during counselling sessions. According to teachers, there have been cases
of students turning up “high” in class.
Between 2018 and 2023, there were 4020 cases of tobacco use, 3527 cases of suki and 1415 cases reported by NSAAC on glue or benzene sniffing.
So, here we are. We can voice our concerns about a lot of our challenges. Where does this fit in? Drugs and our children?
Let’s remove the blinkers. Let’s be brutally honest, and let’s admit we have a massive challenge before us. This is about our future.
This is about our loved ones and this is about our nation! We’ve got to be united. We’ve got to be engaged. Let’s be concerned! Let’s be angry and let’s do something about this! Today!
