The Speaker of the House, Lord Fakafanua Photo: RNZ Pacific / Koro Vaka'uta
The legislature is now considering the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Bill 2021, which was introduced as a private members' bill by the Speaker, Lord Fakafanua.
He wants a mandatory death sentence for offenders who traffic 5 kilograms or more of a Class A drug.
Matangi Tonga reported Fakafanua saying "drugs offences are on the rise and at a very alarming rate in Tonga.
He says 12 percent of the prison population are illicit drug offenders, while they make up half the admissions to the psychiatric ward. Photo: Tonga Police
Fakafanua also said most re-offend.
Several other pieces of legislation aimed at getting on top of Tonga's drug problem, are now before parliament.
They include the Intoxicating Substances Bill 2021 and the Therapeutic Goods (Amendment) Bill 2021.
The Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Bill 2021 proposes:
Tonga is one of just two Pacific states, with Papua New Guinea, that still has the death penalty on its books.
But it has not used it in 40 years.
