Drugs in NZ - an Overview

Most New Zealanders over 15 use alcohol at least once a year, and a concerning number use in a way likely to cause themselves harm (19.5% in 2020/21). 78.5% percent of New Zealand’s adult population reported drinking alcohol at least once during 2020/21.

To work out whether your drinking is harmful, check out this online tool.

Smoking rates continue to fall, but they remain stubbornly high in some demographic groups. According to the NZ Health Survey, 9.4% of New Zealanders smoke daily – an estimated 387,000 adults. The rate of daily smoking has fallen nearly 5% in the past five years.

Socio-economic status makes a huge difference to how likely a person is to smoke. Those living in the poorest neighbourhoods are more than seven times more likely to smoke daily than those in the wealthiest, and Māori are more than three times more likely than non-Māori (22.3%) to smoke daily.

For more information on alcohol and tobacco use, see our latest State of the Nation

Cannabis is the most commonly used illicit drug in New Zealand.

15.3% of adults used cannabis in the past year, and 4.5%, or 75,000 adults, smoke cannabis monthly. Use is higher for Māori, young people, and those living in less wealthy neighbourhoods.

Methamphetamine use has remained relatively stable in the past 5 years, but some communities face more harm than others.

It’s widely believed that methamphetamine (‘P’) use is growing in New Zealand. However, overall recorded numbers of people using amphetamines (including methamphetamine) have remained relatively stable in the past 5 years, at around 1 percent of the population.

It’s hard to determine how accurate these figures are, because official surveys don’t include populations that have higher rates of drug use, such as people who are in insecure housing or in prison. It’s fair to say that while overall usage remains low, methamphetamine has become a serious concern in some communities.

Use of other illicit drugs is relatively low in New Zealand

The last published Ministry of Health survey on illicit drug use was done over a decade ago in 2007/08. It found that use of other drugs such as LSD and opiates was not widespread.

It's hard to get an accurate picture of which illicit drugs people are using, but police seizures provide some insights. Cannabis is the most frequently seized drug by a huge margin, and the amount seized has increased since 2017. Other drugs are seized far less often, but MDMA seizures have increased over the past three years while synthetic cannabinoid seizures have fallen. (Source: National Drug Intelligence Bureau).

For more information on illicit drug use, see our latest State of the Nation.

There are still too many young people entering the youth justice system for low-level cannabis offences. For most young people, the harm of being brought into the criminal justice system will far outweigh the harms of having experimented with cannabis.

The good news is that during the six years prior to and culminating in the 2019 discretion amendment, warnings and prosecutions of young people aged 17 and under for drug-related offences fell dramatically in favour of youth referrals.

However, the overall numbers of young people entering the youth justice system due to drug offences are still too high. According to the Safe And Effective Justice Advisory Group (2019), there were 913 drug-related referrals in 2020, of which 90% were for possession and use of drugs or drug utensils.

Of drug proceedings for young people:

• 89% are for cannabis
• 4% for methamphetamine
• 3% for ecstasy
• 2% for LSD and
• 2% for other drugs, including stimulants and opiates.

For more information about drug use among young people, see our latest State of the Nation

While not all drug use is harmful, drug harm costs New Zealand a lot of money. The social cost of drug-related harm was estimated to cost New Zealand $813.09 million in 2020 (NZ Illicit Drug Harm Index 2020). The social cost includes harms to an individual’s health, whānau, friends and the wider community.

The Government spends around $350 million each year addressing drug-related issues. Most of this money is spent on enforcement, rather than treatment. According to the Government’s Drug Harm Index 2016 (the most recent figures available), yearly expenditure by government agencies on drug-related issues is estimated to be: