Police ask minister for review of hemp law

POLICE officers are asking Home Affairs Minister Pio Tikoduadua to relook at legislation surrounding the destruction of illicit drugs like marijuana that are uprooted from farms in remote areas where the owners have not been identified.

They made the urgent plea, claiming the transport of drugs from remote highland areas over challenging terrain posed serious health and safety risks to officers because they were not properly equipped to do the job.

The request was made during a talanoa session at the Ba Police Station recently by a senior officer who said officers had been exposed to the health and safety risks for years because were not provided with the right equipment to handle the drugs.

“This is in regards to drugs uprooted from the highlands of Navosa and in Kadavu where the owners are not identified,” the officer said.

“Officers have had to uproot those drugs and bring them from those farms right to the police station, these farms are located deep in the forest and it’s quite hard for them to bring these drugs right to the stations.

“Officers have to carry them through very tough terrain to the station and this poses a lot of health risks to them they are not well-equipped and even in the stations too, the exhibit room is close to the charge room that is accessed by the public and sometimes the smell comes inside.”

Mr Tikoduadua said he recognised the limitations of the force to deal with the exhibits and evidence in a proper manner and the laws that governed the way they had to conduct their work.

The minister said they would need to have some dialogue around the important issue as raised by the officers.

“Maybe we should help those that write the law particularly around this area, it will also avoid the hassle of having to come and store it,” Mr Tikoduadua said.

“We need to be a little bit smarter when it comes to such issues.”