Federated States of Micronesia: Islands in the Sun

The legacy of social problems and substance abuse in Micronesia has its roots in the long history of island contact with each other and with outsiders. Historically, the Micronesian region has been the setting for intensive and extensive complex interaction between indigenous and outsider peoples since 1521 when Spanish explorer Ferdinand Magellan made landfall in Guahan. Such interaction resulted in major changes in material, moral, health and socioeconomic cultures. As much as researchers have been studying the social problems and concurrence substance use, there is no clear and definitive answer that can lead to reliable solutions to these problems. Historically, tobacco and alcohol had been the focus of substance abuse studies, but additional awareness of new substances such as gas sniffing, tobacco chewing and betel nut have broadened the field of substance abuse research. If solutions in the form of treatment, public awareness, and policy are to be realized through research, then greater opportunity to conduct local research is needed.