The Supreme Court in Apia, in Samoa has said prison sentences are needed to tackle an increase in the number of marijuana cases.
In a single day last week, Chief Justice Patu Falefatu Sapolu passed sentences in 19 separate marijuana cases.
He said that marijuana offending exceeds any other crime by far.
The Samoa Observer newspaper quotes the Chief Justice as saying that he would impose custodial sentences in order to deter further such offending.
He told the court that the seriousness with which marijuana offending is regarded is shown by the maximum penalty of seven years in prison.
