Cannabis is sometimes called spak brus in local parlance.

Cannabis is believed to have been introduced to PNG by Australian and American expatriates in the 1960s-1970s.

[1] From them the habit spread to locals, and by the 1980s cannabis could be bought in the major cities.

[5] Cannabis is a lucrative cash crop[6] in PNG, and is exported to Australia across the Torres Strait.

1990 reports state the "PNG Gold" was valued at AU$12,000 per kilogram.