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The Drug Foundation works closely with Government, to help bring about meaningful change to the way New Zealand deals with drugs. Our latest Briefing to the Incoming Parliament, released in December 2020, was sent to every sitting MP elected in the October 2020 General Election. 

While it's mainly a policy document, it also provides a good overview of the work we do and explains the rationale behind our strategy. You can download a copy of it here:

Like everyone, we are concerned about the harm caused by drugs in New Zealand. Recent changes like greater investment in treatment, moves to legalise drug checking, and the new High Alert early warning system give us real hope for the future. However, we still have a long way to go. 

As we see it, there are some relatively easy changes that could make a big difference. But we'll need to underpin those with deeper reform, if we're going to shift our framework to a health-based approach. Some recent flagship reports have made excellent suggestions for how the Government can move forward, and this briefing sets out our recommendations for putting those into action. 

Here are our five high-level recommendations:

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