While Fiji continues to enforce strict cannabis prohibition and severe criminal penalties under its Illicit Drugs Control Act, possession, cultivation, or supply of cannabis can still result in heavy fines or long prison terms under national law. Despite decades of advocacy and significant global shifts toward decriminalization, medical access, and regulated markets, Fiji has yet to implement any substantive reform. Cannabis remains classified as an illicit drug, and local legislation allows penalties that may include substantial fines or imprisonment even for personal possession or small-scale cultivation.¹²³ In contrast, on December 18, 2025, United States President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to reschedule cannabis under the Controlled Substances Act from Schedule I to Schedule III. Schedule I substances are defined as having no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse, whereas Schedule III drugs are recognized as having accepted medi...
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The Result Of Prohibition
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When a substance is prohibited, demand is displaced into an illicit black market where quality control, dosage standards, and enforceable age barriers do not exist, making unregulated supply the dominant mode of distribution¹. In these conditions, products of uncertain potency and composition increase health risks while limiting the reach and effectiveness of harm-reduction education and public-health guidance, since criminalisation prioritises enforcement over health-based engagement². Enforcement responses then concentrate police, court, and prison resources on drug-related offences, expanding institutional workloads and diverting attention from serious crime prevention and public-health interventions, generating a sustained opportunity cost for public safety³. Criminalisation also produces stigma by framing use as a legal violation, which discourages individuals from seeking medical advice or treatment and weakens trust between affected communities and public institutions⁴. Because ...
Fiji’s Hemp Promise: More Than Three Years Lost
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In July 2022, Fiji’s Parliament amended the Illicit Drugs Control Act to legalize industrial hemp, removing low-THC hemp from the list of prohibited substances. At the time, it was framed as a step toward economic diversification, sustainable agriculture, and new opportunities for local farmers. More than three years later, that promise remains largely unfulfilled. Hemp is legal in law — but not functional in practice. Clear regulations, licensing systems, and customs alignment have still not been fully implemented. As a result, Fiji has watched a global industry grow while remaining effectively locked out of it. This is not a debate about ideology or morality. It is about time lost, income lost, and opportunities denied. The global reality: hemp moved forward without Fiji Since 2022, the global industrial hemp industry has continued to expand. Independent market analysts estimate the global hemp market to be worth around USD 9–11 billion by 2024, with strong growth projected into the ...
World Moves Forward on Cannabis Science — Fiji Still Enforcing Outdated Laws That Punish Locals and Undermines Its Own Economic Credibility
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The global trajectory on cannabis policy is shifting — cautiously, unevenly, but unmistakably — toward alignment with scientific evidence rather than inherited prohibition. In the United States, the Trump administration has publicly indicated consideration of moving cannabis from Schedule I — the most restrictive federal classification — toward Schedule III. As of now, no final rescheduling order has been completed, and the process remains subject to administrative review and procedural delay. Still, the discussion itself marks a significant break from decades of rigid federal positioning. A move to Schedule III would formally recognize that cannabis has accepted medical use and a lower abuse profile than Schedule I substances, potentially easing research barriers and correcting tax distortions. It would not legalize cannabis federally, nor would it eliminate federal enforcement powers — but it would represent a scientific and regulatory recalibration long delayed. While major economie...
“All Communities Free to Do Business” — Except When the Business Is Cannabis
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“All Communities Free to Do Business” — Except When the Business Is Cannabis On 13 December 2025, Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka stated at the opening of the George Shiu Raj Complex in Rakiraki that “all ethnic communities in Fiji are safe, protected and free to pursue their economic interests.” That statement was made in a celebratory context about private investment and inclusive growth. But when examined against the Government’s existing laws and policies on cannabis — especially its export-only orientation and absence of an operational domestic cannabis regime — the assurance does not align with the evidence. Claim vs. Legal Reality The Prime Minister’s assurance implies sector-neutral economic freedom. Yet, under Fiji’s current legal framework: Cannabis remains illegal for general cultivation, possession, supply, and use under the Illicit Drugs Control Act, except where narrowly exempted (i.e., industrial hemp under 1% THC). All other forms of cannabis remain classified as illicit...