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Needle exchange comes of age

Neeedle exchange New Zealand has come a long way since its humble and controversial beginning. It's now turned 21, and congratulations are i......

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Will they ever learn?

If a student turns up to class stoned, they might be kicked out of school. Or they might have a restorative conference with their teachers a......

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Sport under the influence

Alcohol industry sponsorship has been a goldmine for sport in New Zealand, so much so that many clubs say they couldn't survive without it. ......

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Knowledge of and attitudes to illegal drugs

Last year, the Ministry of Health published a report on what kiwis know and think about illegal drugs. Not all the findings were predictable......

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What to do with 'high' school students

For many teenagers, alcohol and other drugs are part of everyday life. But is kicking drug taking kids out of school the best solution we've......

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Taking the pulse of Māori public health

Restoring equality and addressing health outcomes for Māori come with many challenges. Matt Calman talks with four figures from the sector a......

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Where are we at with alcohol reform?

It's been 4 years since new liquor laws passed. They were supposed to reduce problematic consumption of alcohol without impinging on respons......

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A court that heals

Offenders opting to come under New Zealand’s first Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Court choose a stretch of healing, rather than jail time......

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No longer the healthy option

20 years on from the New Zealand Drug Foundation’s first cannabis and health conference, Keri Welham takes a look at Aotearoa’s most widely ......

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Where there is life, there is hope

Harm reduction is about saving lives and treating people with respect. While we led the world with the first government sanctioned needle ex......

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Gangs trial new ways

Police, researchers, politicians and even gang members themselves will tell you that gangs play a significant role in the drug trade in this......

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Pounding a Helpful Beat

What would happen if Police and the justice system put less emphasis on punishing people and more on steering them towards support? Catriona......

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Has NZ’s drug law passed its use by date?

A lot can happen in 40 years. The changes we’ve witnessed in Kiwi society are profound. Yet the Misuse of Drugs Act (1975) is essentially th......

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History never repeats

New Zealand’s history of drugs and the laws to control them....

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Getting the measure of meth

With a host of agencies diligently working together to tackle New Zealand’s meth problem over the last six years, it’s timely to ask how thi......

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Little by little

Sex addicts are comic gold, coffee addicts are the epitome of urban cool, but drug addicts? Media coverage always needs two sides, so when t......

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Through the maze - healthy drug law reform

The Law Commission's review of the Misuse of Drugs Act cannot come soon enough. The Drug Foundation has some ideas about how a new Act shoul......

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Poor foundations – testing homes for meth gone awry

Across New Zealand, tenants are losing their homes and possessions – or receiving debilitating bills – because their houses are found to be ......

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The benefit in doubt

Welfare beneficiaries who use alcohol and drugs are likely to be targeted under a new, tougher regime if recommendations by the Welfare Work......

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Let's talk about pot: Black Market forces

At $1 billion, New Zealand's cannabis black market would equate to one quarter the size of New Zealand's entire legal horticulture industry.......

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The cruel 'C'

The outlook for those suffering from hepatitis C is pretty bleak. It's an unwelcome disease with unwelcome symptoms, and sometimes the cure ......

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Into my arms: Injecting drug use in New Zealand

Chris Wilkins and Charles Henderson compare findings on injecting drug use behaviour from the Illicit Drug Monitoring System and Needle Exch......

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Smoking bans in prisons - do they work?

Midway through next year, there will be a ban on smoking behind bars, but there is considerable debate over how effective this will be and o......

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Needles and NIMBYs

The cry “Not in my back yard!” is often heard when communities are confronted by a social solution they don’t fully understand. But when imp......

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How well are pre-charge warnings working?

Pre-charge warnings have quietly become a valuable new tool in the policing tool box and an effective way of getting minor crime out of an o......

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There’s something wrong with the sentences

Under the irrelevant and outdated Misuse of Drugs Act, cannabis penalties and convictions in New Zealand remain inconsistent, disproportiona......

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More cool to stay at school

Schools often believe they have no other option but to suspend students using alcohol or drugs, even though exclusion will only make the sit......

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It’s going to take more than silver linings...

Hearing about these new pockets of humanity and hope in our justice system is refreshing. What a difference it makes when people care about ......

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A conviction is for life

The consequences of a youthful drug conviction continue to have profound and unfortunate impacts on Barry's life....

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If it’s not true to label, then what are people taking?

With the summer festival circuit over for another year, some people will be looking back on a close shave they had as a result of using drug......

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Chris Rattue

Chris Rattue tells other people’s stories. He is a writer who makes his living as a journalist, sports reporter and columnist for The New Ze......

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Appealing for community

In the February 2013 issue, we featured the story of Russell School in Cannons Creek, Porirua, which became the centre and focus of successf......

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Hepatitis C – new hope on the horizon

Pharmac has recently started funding new drugs that have amazing curative effects for more than half of people in New Zealand with hepatitis......

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To test or not to test

Drug testing in schools is rejected by some and embraced by others. So what is the score? Naomi Arnold hers from all sides of the issue....

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Our ‘psycho’ psychoactive substances legislation

New Zealand’s Psychoactive Substances Act has been described as world leading and incredibly innovative. But during 2014, public moral apopl......

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The myth: Methamphetamine and minors

The statistics say it, the kids say it, health workers say it – “So why won’t society believe that meth dependence among Kiwi kids is rare?”......

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Show me the money!

Whether we’re treating drug issues in the health sector or enforcing the Misuse of Drugs Act in the law enforcement and justice sector, addr......

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A formidable major

Small in stature but a tower of strength, Lynette Hutson ranks highly among New Zealand's alcohol and other drug workers....

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Doing LAPs

With few Local Alcohol Plans (LAPs) in place, communities are forced into being reactive when faced with new applications for liquor licence......

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Dry times

As well as marking the end of Lent, Easter weekend traditionally marks the beginning of the cannabis harvest in New Zealand. In the weeks le......

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e-Support for sobriety

A growing number of people are turning to the internet for help with their sobriety, finding online tribes of like- minded people wanting to......

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Lizi's living sober

Living Sober member Lizi Reese talks about the role alcohol played in her life and her long road to sobriety....

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Putting the ‘bi’ into binge

Emma Hart suggests there’s a reason why bisexual people binge drink more than straight dudes and dudesses and that the biphobic media aren’t......

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A school's core business

This is the second in our Whole School Series, which look into new approaches to protecting young people from drug-related harm being adopte......

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A remarkable lifetime achievement

Tihi Puanaki – a driving force behind award-winning kapa haka group Te Kotahitanga for more than four decades – has just won a Lifetime Achi......

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Psychoactive Substances Act 101

A world-leading piece of legislation has been passed in New Zealand to regulate new psychoactive substances. What is it all about, how does ......

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Opinion: The Debate down at Goodbye Blue Monday

Where better to talk about alcohol law reform than at the pub? Christchurch CAYAD co-ordinator Mike Moss reports on how an organised debate ......

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P: New Zealand’s P history

Redmer Yska traces the development of amphetamine manufacture and its history of use in New Zealand...

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East Coast community action

A number of CAYAD initiatives are helping East Coast youth to get on with it, instead of just getting out of it....

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When grandparents must step up

Wide-ranging research has laid bare the experiences of grandparents stepping up to raise grandchildren due to their own child’s battle with ......

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Stigma really hurts

Long after someone has given up using drugs, the associated stigma can linger. One person who knows about this is Wellington Drugs Project b......

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Face Trashed

Alcohol marketing on social media is cheap, successful and legal. But researchers say New Zealand should be attempting to control marketers’......

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Students skip suspension, get support instead

It’s in the playgrounds, on the sports field and in the dean’s office where many teenagers learn about making good choices, asking for help ......

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“We’re not here to judge.”

At Auckland’s Aorere College, it is rare for young people to be permanently kicked out of school for drug-related incidents. Instead, studen......

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How we see things from our front gate

In 2011, Russell School became the centre for one small neighbourhood’s battle. Its success in reducing harm from a poorly managed local liq......

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Drug history: James K Baxter: poetry and political influence

You may know Hemi Baxter as one of our finest poets, but did you also know that he helped shape our current drug law?...

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Guest editorial: Alcohol advertising: what's the problem?

While advertising of alcohol keeps spreading and spreading, the industry denies this leads to more harms. The evidence says otherwise, and s......

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The Retreat

On a leafy Ōtāhuhu street just off Auckland’s Southern Motorway is a new recovery centre called The Retreat. Utilising a ground-breaking res......

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Viewpoints: Is it okay for NZ Police to interpret drug laws

The majority of New Zealanders support change to our cannabis laws, but the political appetite for this is low. Meanwhile, a drop in Police ......

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The cost of convicting young people

Our criminal justice approach under the Misuse of Drugs Act comes at a high cost to all involved, even just in terms of wasted tax dollars, ......

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Healing from the inside out

A new programme for students and by students has helped a troubled little community get back on its feet by getting young people to look inw......

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Policy & Advocacy

This section includes details of the areas that the NZ Drug Foundation is actively working on....

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Viewpoints: Straight edge: the discipline

The non-stop rock ’n’ roll party lifestyle often overshadows the music itself. Yet one musical genre explicitly rejects these excesses and o......

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Guest editorial: Substance Addiction Bill briefing

Vanessa Caldwell, head of the addiction workforce development group Matua Raki, explains what is in the new compulsory treatment bill curren......

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Opinion: A brave, new drug policy

The National Drug Policy 2015-2020 is finally out. How does it stack up? Drug Foundation Principal Policy Advisor Andrew Zielinski looks at ......

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Where there’s smoke, there’s sugar

If there’s one thing Dirty Politics has made clear, it’s that astroturfing (masking who’s really behind the message) is alive and well in Ne......

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Guest editorial: Sorry … but we just can’t wait around

Rethinking the mental health and addictions system and describing what success would look like is not a job for the faint hearted....

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Decriminalise cannabis, decriminalise Māori?

That Māori are more often criminalised for cannabis use is often used as another good argument for decriminalisation. But Hirini Kaa argues ......

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Unequal treatment before the law

Kelly van Gaalen is a stand-up New Zealander 
– a real good sort. Right now though, she’s in prison....

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Māori MPs reconsider drug law

A succession of reports show that Māori are affected significantly more than Pākehā by our drug laws. Russell Brown looks into the issues an......

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Veronal: who remembers veronal?

Redmer Yska delves into the dramatic side effects of a popular barbiturate....

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Viewpoints: Should New Zealand have supervised injection sites?

Supervised injection sites are legally sanctioned, medically supervised facilities designed to reduce harm from injecting drug use. Overwhel......

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Viewpoints: Should we be concerned about rising PIED use?

Performance and image-enhancing drugs are substances taken by people who want to improve their sporting performance or physical appearance. ......

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Viewpoints: Pregnancy warnings on alcohol labels

In 2011, a trans-Tasman food labelling review, led by New Zealand, recommended the introduction of pregnancy health warning labels on alcoho......

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Opinion: Hurt people hurt people

Young people are often on the fringe of policy discourse, but JustSpeak, a youth-led organisation, has forged a strong voice on justice and ......

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LSD: New Zealand’s LSD history

Redmer Yska tells how LSD rose, fell and is maybe rising again for both recreational and therapeutic uses....

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Prevention first

Police are uniquely placed to be first responders to alcohol, drug and mental health call-outs in our communities, but how do they fare? New......

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In memory of Ben Hana

Ben Hana was seen by many as an oddity, but Wellington’s ‘Blanket Man’ was a symptom of a deeper problem and his passing a call to action. D......

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Longer course on alcohol and other drugs

Teaching high school students about drugs and alcohol before they are of legal age is having a positive effect on students at Taieri College......

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Viewpoints: Looking back to 1975 law reform

Four decades ago, the Bill that would become the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975 was making its way through Parliament. Politicians, experts, comme......

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The cost of our convictions

How much does imprisoning young New Zealanders for minor drug offences cost us?...

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Q&A: Toni-Marie Matich

Toni-Marie Matich is the co-founder of the New Zealand branch of United in Compassion (UIC), set up to advocate for the introduction of medi......

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Guest editorial: Equally Well

An initiative to address unequal access to physical health care received by people receiving mental health and addiction treatment is alread......

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Opinion: Dear Politicians: drug policy matters in election year

In this message to New Zealand politicians, Kali Mercier, the Drug Foundation’s Senior Advocacy and Policy Adviser, explains why drug law re......

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Q&A: Dr John Crawshaw

Dr John Crawshaw was appointed Director and Chief Advisor of Mental Health in November 2011. As the principal advisor to the government on m......

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Mythbusters: New Zealand has the highest drug use in the world

Do we really? Or is it just that our bean counters are better at counting beans than others. Find out!...

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Q&A: I’m Lotta. I’m an alcoholic.

Lotta Dann, the journalist wife of TVNZ political editor Corin Dann and a mother of three, has outed herself as a recovering alcoholic and r......

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About a drug: Methamphetamine

Amphetamine, meth’s parent drug, was first synthesised in Berlin in 1887 by Romanian chemist Lazâr Edeleanu, but its potency as a central ne......

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Q&A: Darien Fenton

Darien Fenton is standing down at the next election after nine years in Parliament. The outgoing Labour MP recently opened up in The New Zea......

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Guest editorial: Treatment as prevention? How about prevention as prevention?!

The priority for stopping the spread of hepatitis C should be on early prevention, argues Charles Henderson, National Manager of NZ's Needl......

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Mythbusters: gangs target middle class kids

Minister Judith Collins recently claimed the Head Hunters are working with Black Power and the Mongrel Mob to sell methamphetamine to privat......

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Mythbusters: It sounds too much

Estimated values of seized drugs can be mind-bogglingly huge. In June 260 kg of heroin was seized by the NZ Navy and was estimated to be wor......

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Q&A: Tariana Turia

Māori Party Co-leader Hon. Tariana Turia has mounted a personal crusade against smoking and has been a staunch advocate for Māori health and......

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About a drug: NBOMe

While LSD is often painted as the psychedelic equivalent of a tie-die t-shirt, the new, nefarious n-bomb is portrayed as a potent potion of ......

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Q&A: Dr Huhana Hickey

r Huhana Hickey (Ngāti Tahinga, Whakatōhea) is a research fellow at the Auckland University of Technology and an outspoken medical cannabis ......

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Opinion: A nation in denial?

It’s coming on Christmas, and with it, will come the usual increase in alcohol and other substance-induced family violence. Being good Kiwis......

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On the road to reducing drug harm

The Drug Foundation was delighted to bring together a wide mix of people to deliberate on the intricacies of drug-driving policy at Te Whare......

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Viewpoints: A price too far?

In this edition, Viewpoints looks at whether tax increases are an effective public heath tool to reduce tobacco consumption and finds the an......

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Guest editorial: Complexities and challenges - NZ's Drug Harm Index 2016

Drug harm indexes are complicated methodological tools used to analyse and measure harms resulting from the complicated and complex practice......

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Q&A: Gilbert Taurua

In May 2016, Gilbert Taurua joined the Drug Foundation to lead a new area of work promoting better drug laws for Māori....

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