Drug Law Reform

The way New Zealand responds to drugs is not keeping up with a changing world. A move to treating drug use as a health issue rather than a criminal one is long overdue. In July 2017 the Drug Foundation released Whakawātea te Huarahi, a bold roadmap for drug law reform in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Our model drug law proposes:

• Removing criminal penalties for the possession, use and social supply of all drugs
• Developing a strictly regulated cannabis market
• Putting more resources into prevention, education and treatment.

Download Whakawātea te Huarahi

The government is amending the Misuse of Drugs Act

The government have put forward changes to the Misuse of Drugs Act. This will bring New Zealand closer to treating drug use as a health issue. You can check what we think in our press release or our submission to the 2019 Misuse of Drugs Act Amendment bill, or you can get updates from Parliament here. 

Want to run a drug law reform workshop in your community?

Drug policy is an important issue, and can be difficult to talk about. So we’ve designed a workshop toolkit to help locals and community organisations run their own hui on drug policy reform. It explains how drug policy impacts Aotearoa New Zealand, and gives a breakdown of Whakawātea te Huarahi. The workshop is interactive and adaptable so you can make it suit your audience and community.

Download the community consultation toolkit and please contact us if you have any questions.