American Samoa's chief justice, Michael Kruse, is urging the government to invest in a drug awareness campaign to make children aware of the negative effects of drugs.
In the recent sentencing of a man who stole to support his addiction to methamphetamine, Justice Kruse says users of the drug become addicted the first time they take it.
He also says addicted defendants have little hope of overcoming their problems without serious intervention, but that's not currently available on island.
While the government receives federal funding for a drug rehabilitation programmee in prison, the court has established that no such services exist.
