Drugs & criminal justice

The latest figures from the Ministry of Justice show New Zealand is still arresting, charging and convicting thousands of people every year for drug-related offences. Many of these are low-level offences.

Criminalising drug use does not work. The Drug Foundation thinks New Zealand can do much better. We need to start treating drug use as a health issue, not a criminal one. This will not only save money in the justice and prison system - it will allow those who are struggling with their drug use to get the help they need.

5,063 people were convicted of drug offences in 2018. Over the last ten years, a massive 59,760 people have been convicted.

Offence type (illicit drugs)	2018	Past 10 years
Import or export	63	684
Deal or traffic	1,064	10,839
Manufacture or cultivate	748	11,702
Possess or use (including utensils)	3,188	36,535
Total	5,063	62,173

People convicted of drug offences in NZ (by most serious drug offence type)

More than half of the people convicted had a low-level drug offence as their most serious drug offence. These offences include possessing or using drugs or drug utensils. In 2018, 801 people were imprisoned for possession and/or use of an illicit drug or drug utensil.

These convictions continue despite mounting evidence that shows punishing and threatening people does not stop drug use.

convictions 2018

People under 30 make up nearly half of all convictions for low-level drug offences (possession, use and utensils).

Young people with a conviction find it harder to travel, get credit and get a job. Generally, the more contact someone has with the justice system, the more likely they are to return. So, it is best not bring them into the system unnecessarily, especially if they are young.

convictions by age 2018

Māori received 43 percent of all drug convictions and 44 percent of low-level convictions in 2018, despite making up only 17 percent of the population. It's clear Māori are disproportionately harmed by our drug laws.

ethnicity

Information was supplied in response to Official Information requests to the Ministry of Justice:

Ministry of Justice OIA response, July 2019 ( XLSX 501kb )

More than for any other group, drug law reform is a big issue for tangata whenua.

Most Māori have seen the human cost of our bad drug law first-hand and it’s a sad truth that the people most harmed by prohibition are Māori, young and male. Read More