Investigations have revealed that students who are caught with marijuana in schools had already smoked suki or cigarette and that marijuana was their third hit.

National  Substance Abuse Advisory Council acting director Josua Naisele said this trend showed children were “graduating” themselves from suki and cigarette to illegal smoking.

He made the remarks while addressing participants at the Arya Pratinidhi Sabha of Fiji Women’s Conference in Lautoka on Saturday.

“When students who are brought to us for counselling after being found with marijuana are asked ‘what else have you used’, they usually say ‘I started off with suki and then cigarette,’” Mr Naisele said.

“Marijuana can be their third drug so they climb up like this step by step.

“So at home, please you have to be very careful with your children and stop them from smoking cigarettes or suki.

“Because once you allow them to start with these legal ones, it can give them the leeway to try this illegal one, the marijuana.”

Mr Naisele said the marijuana market in Fiji was for the young people.

“When you are old, you become forgetful and that is normal. What the hospitals are seeing now is the younger people coming in — not the old ones — who are forgetful.

“When they take in drugs like marijuana, it increases the rate of damage to the brain cells, that’s the reason why most of them are ending up in St Giles Hospital.”