Sailivao Aukusitino Senio witnesses the harm meth has been doing. He deals with people coming in for rehabilitation for substance addiction including meth addiction.

Meth is readily available in Samoa and according to sources on the ground, it is now the most sold narcotic in the country, mainly because of the financial gains.

Sailivao is concerned. He is witnessing an increase in the number of meth addicts that come for help. Since the beginning of 2023, there has been a noticeable rise in individuals presenting for treatment who have experimented with meth, indicating a troubling trend in substance use within the country.

Since 2018, more than 2090 individuals have sought help for various substance use issues, some of these cases involving meth. Over the years, Salvation Army has observed and learned that some of those attending their service started experimenting with meth in their teenage years.

This trend is particularly concerning as it suggests that the accessibility and use of meth are becoming more prevalent among our young people.

The Salvation Army is developing and exploring behavioural therapy techniques specifically targeting individuals in need of methamphetamine treatment.

The behaviour associated with meth use is becoming increasingly problematic within villages and communities, raising alarms about the potential long-term impacts on communities and the broader society."

According to Sailivao, methamphetamine addiction poses significant challenges for individuals and society. While some may consider incarceration as a solution, evidence suggests that prison is not the best option for meth addicts.

Instead, comprehensive treatment alternatives have proven to be more effective in addressing the root causes of addiction and supporting long-term recovery.

For a small nation, the amount of meth available on the streets is unbelievable. From security officers to taxi drivers, they are selling it to tourists and locals. The complex nature of the meth operation only suggests an organised structure.

Apart from upgrading customs and border facilities, the only other way out of this situation is education and awareness. Children as young as 14-years-old are involved in this, both as users and runners. The poverty situation faced by child street vendors has also made some of them easy targets to distribute meth in Samoa.

Police can get hard on everyone, search the vendors daily, and have regular roadblocks with sniffer dogs. Has that worked anywhere in the world? Let us look at New Zealand. The police have been doing that but the operators always find other ways.

Eradicate the child vendor issue by having free education, and work on reducing poverty, and perhaps then some of these numbers will dwindle.

It is also time to break away from the tradition of not talking about certain subjects in the family circle. The realities of the use of this drug must be portrayed. Show children the hard images of meth addicts and shock their system. Awareness campaigns by authorities should not be just a few messages saying ‘be wise, don’t do drugs’ but the reality of the use should be talked about and shown.

The churches and village councils have to talk about this among themselves and the people. The situation will get worse. The number one reason why meth will continue to be in Samoa is not that it is highly addictive but it is highly lucrative. Money is the best motivator and there are people out there willing to poison others and get rich. We can no longer believe that drug peddlers are small gangs but complex and well-organised criminal business entities.

The meth fire has always been thought to have been started by deportees but now the fire is out of control. A new approach is needed, an inclusive one otherwise we can be like Indonesia and Malaysia, where you get the death penalty for crimes related to narcotics.

A blind eye cannot be turned to meth, it is slowly eroding the way of life in this country, its people and its culture.