The revelation that nine young boys died last year from drug overdoses is alarming and should jolt us all into urgent reflection and action.
This disturbing information was confirmed by Fiji Police Force Narcotics Division Inspector Usaia Donu while speaking at the recent All-Nations Christian Fellowship Generation Youth Conference in Lautoka.
According to Insp Donu, the deaths were linked to methamphetamine use, a drug that continues to tighten its grip on vulnerable communities.
“In 2024, the Minister for Women and Children was saying in the newspaper that eight boys in Nadi died from meth overdose,” Insp Donu said. “And then recently I visited a hospital here and the doctors told me nine young boys just died from drug overdose. The doctors said they could not help them. That news really saddened me because this is what we are seeing today.”
What we are seeing and hearing is not only sad. It is serious, systemic, and dangerous.
These deaths are among the most devastating consequences of the illicit drug trade.
Addiction leads to dependence and also to overdose, long-term health damage, and in some cases, death.
Beyond overdose, drugs are linked to a range of social harms, including rising HIV infections, crime committed to sustain addiction, and the involvement of international criminal syndicates that profit from human vulnerability.
This is a lucrative and ruthless industry that feeds on desperation, poverty, and ignorance, leaving destruction in its wake.
The impact extends far beyond the individual user. Drug abuse tears apart families, weakens community bonds, and erodes trust. Relationships are destroyed. Households become unstable. Crime increases. Fear spreads. The ripple effects touch everyone.
Insp Donu stressed that young people, in particular, need to understand the physical and mental toll drugs take each time they are consumed.
“When you come back down from your high, you will start to have depression, pain and paranoia,” he said. “When you have paranoia, you will have no rest.”
He explained that drug use interferes with the brain’s natural chemicals that regulate happiness and emotional wellbeing. Repeated abuse dulls the body’s ability to feel joy, pushing users into what he described as the “dark side” of drugs, a cycle of chasing highs that become harder to reach, while the pain deepens.
Insp Donu also highlighted the long history of so-called “white drugs” in destabilising mental and physical health. Methamphetamine, he said, was historically used during World War I to keep soldiers awake and fearless.
“Today it is used by people who want to stay awake for other reasons, and they still are without that fear,” he said. “This is why I tell our officers, if you are going to arrest a person on meth, you need to have back-up. Because they will not be afraid.”
While police have yet to confirm whether the nine overdose cases happened in the Western Division or elsewhere, one thing is clear, Fiji cannot afford complacency.
Awareness, prevention, enforcement, and rehabilitation must move with urgency and unity. Parents, schools, churches, community leaders, health professionals, and law enforcement all have a role to play. Silence and denial only give drugs more room to spread.
Nine young lives lost should be a warning!
