ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the need to understand the various contexts in which alcohol and other drugs, including traditional substances like kava, are used in and across Pacific communities. The use of substances across the Pacific has a strong historical context from natural and traditional approaches in concert with cultural views connecting with each other and reiterating the importance of peers and community. With the formal introduction of alcohol by colonisation in the Pacific, alcohol has become successively more available over time. The use of marijuana has varied across Pacific Island nations and territories. Grown and available also in various parts of the Pacific, Betel nut is the seed of the fruit of the areca palm tree. Kava is a beverage that is consumed both socially and traditionally in many Pacific Island nations across Oceania. Few Pacific Island countries have national drug policies and strong, well-resourced agencies responsible for their development and implementation.
