\u201cOur drug laws are unsafe and the status quo is untenable \u2013 things are only going to get worse if we fail to act.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is not a new perspective; the 2018 He Ara Oranga report<\/a> into mental health and addiction had similar findings and recommendations, while those on the frontlines of drug harm have been consistently crying out for the MODA to be repealed and replaced, most recently in 2021<\/a>.<\/p>\n Supporters of the status quo fear that such changes could lead to greater drug-related harm, particularly among young people, though this report contests that this has not generally transpired overseas; it depends, though, on what regulatory model is adopted and how well resourced it is. <\/p>\n There has been, and remains, no political appetite from the main parties for drug law reform.<\/p>\n \u2018Harms exacerbated by drug laws\u2019<\/p>\n The qualitative research from the survey in the report is the first of its kind, though similar insights were provided to the He Ara Oranga inquiry.<\/p>\n A punitive law exacerbates the harms it seeks to prevent, survey respondents said, by entrenching stigma and social disadvantage.<\/p>\n Male European New Zealander aged over 65: \u201cThe harms in my case are entirely due to drug laws. They constrict my rights, choices and endanger me by generating crime. I realise that some people are harmed by using some drugs, but harms are exacerbated by drug laws.\u201d Female European New Zealander aged 55-64: \u201cThe fear of seeking help for myself and others. I still remember dropping a friend off in a phone box after [dialling] 111.\u201dFemale, M\u0101ori\/European New Zealander aged 35-44: \u201cSomebody [I know] went to a doctor once [to] get help, and he asked her, \u2018are you on any drugs, methamphetamine?\u2019 She admitted to [using] methamphetamine. And he just said, \u2018sorry, I can\u2019t help you, go away\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cParticipants described the ongoing impact of criminal records on employment, housing and wh\u0101nau wellbeing,\u201d the report said. <\/p>\n \u201cThe perception that drug law enforcement was harsh, arbitrary, and disproportionately targeted M\u0101ori was widespread.\u201d<\/p>\n This latter point was suggested in a 2021 Ministry of Health report<\/a>, which found M\u0101ori and non-M\u0101ori tended to be treated the same once they were involved in police proceedings for drug use. But M\u0101ori were over-represented in the number of people in those proceedings.<\/p>\n The ministry report was looking into the impact of a 2019 law change supportive of a therapeutic approach<\/a>, which led to a decline in the number of drug-use proceedings. In recent years, it has spiked again<\/a>.<\/p>\n How harm manifests<\/p>\n Millions of New Zealanders use substances regardless of their legal status, which is generally not reflective of the evidence about how much harm they cause. <\/p>\n Tobacco and alcohol, for example, are legal and lightly regulated, yet are among the most harmful of all substances. <\/p>\n Less objectively harmful drugs, such as LSD and psilocybin (magic mushrooms), are classified as if they were as harmful as methamphetamine, the most harmful illegal drug in New Zealand.<\/p>\n \u201cMost people who use drugs will not substantially benefit from an immediate health intervention, as they do not have an immediate health need,\u201d the report said. <\/p>\n This was suggested in the extremely low engagement rate<\/a> for a police-referred alcohol and drug helpline, set up following the 2019 law change<\/a>.<\/p>\n Drug use among adults has trended upwards over the past decade, according to the annual helth survey, while for those aged 15-24, it has increased for psychedelics, opioids and MDMA since 2022\/23.<\/p>\n Any drug has the potential to cause harm, so the key issues are how this can be minimised and what has happened under the existing law?<\/p>\n The report found:<\/p>\n Increasing rates of fatal overdose: between 2016 and 2024, 1295 people died of accidental drug overdose. In 2024, there were nearly three fatal overdoses per week, while in 2023, the fatal overdose rate for M\u0101ori was twice that for non-M\u0101ori.Growing substance use disorder. In 2021\u201323, 11.2% of adults (around 470,000) were at moderate or high risk of problems\/harms from illicit substance use, compared to 2016\/17 when the proportion was 10.1% (around 390,000). High incarceration rates, particularly among M\u0101ori. In 2024, 4083 people were convicted of drug offences, two-thirds of them for drug possession\/use. Nearly half (48%) of those convicted for drug use-possession were M\u0101ori.Increasing harm to M\u0101ori who, before MODA, were minimally involved in using drugs, according to a Board of Health report in 1970: \u201cExcluding the Chinese opium smokers, the large majority of drug abusers who now come to official notice in New Zealand are New Zealand-born Europeans.\u201dA growth in the volume and toxicity of the drug supply; unregulated drugs can be laced with something more dangerous, though since 2021, legal drug-checking services<\/a> have somewhat mitigated this risk. What works to reduce harm<\/p>\n The report warns of the dangers of the commercial legal cannabis models in North America \u2013 parts of which are grappling with the consequences of high-potency THC<\/a> consumables among young people \u2013 and instead favours the not-for-profit regulatory regimes in Uruguay or Malta.<\/p>\n \u201cThe evidence was clear that commercial models don\u2019t work,\u201d Helm said. <\/p>\n \u201cThey are successful at displacing the illicit market, but overall drive up health harms.\u201d<\/p>\n The report said decriminalising all drug use has not, in general, led to an increase in drug use among young people. <\/p>\n \u201cMost studies find no increase in use, and in some contexts, decreases in problematic or high-risk use have been recorded.\u201d <\/p>\n Usage rates were regardless beside the point, the report said, which was to minimise harm. <\/p>\n Decriminalising automatically reduces the burden on police, courts and prisons, as well as some of the stigma and social disadvantage for those who might otherwise be caught in the criminal justice system for drug use.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere reforms are poorly implemented or contradicted by enforcement practices, the intended benefits are undermined,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n In Canada\u2019s British Columbia, for example, decriminalisation did not reduce hospitalisations or deaths related to opioid or stimulant use.<\/p>\n The fall in drug-related deaths in Portugal, by contrast, is associated with well-resourced health services. <\/p>\n \u201cPortugal\u2019s two decades of experience of decriminalisation is compelling,\u201d Helm said.<\/p>\n \u201cOverdose deaths fell dramatically, HIV transmission rates plummeted, and the burden on the criminal justice system was eased, all without an increase in drug use. Portugal now has one of the lowest rates of drug-related deaths in the EU.<\/p>\n \u201cOur report is very clear that any law reform efforts must be coupled with significant investment in support, including ringfenced funding for services designed and delivered by M\u0101ori, who have experienced the greatest harm from our current laws.\u201d<\/p>\n Arm\u2019s length from politicians<\/p>\n The report looked at the benefits of heroin-assisted treatment in Switzerland, which provides a safe place and safe drug supply for heavy users; a similar approach has been suggested to tackle methamphetamine problems<\/a> in New Zealand. <\/p>\n It also considered the therapeutic benefits of lower-harm substances (including MDMA, LSD and psilocybin), and recommended a new health agency \u2013 depoliticising the process \u2013 that can translate the latest evidence into harm-reducing regulation.<\/p>\n This would be a world-first. Canada has a health agency that can make legal exemptions for certain substances, but \u201cthese are still, however, administered at a high political level\u201d, the report said.<\/p>\n Helm said the current law was a \u201clengthy legislative process, each time we want to put commonsense life-saving measures in place\u201d.<\/p>\n The new agency would need to be flexible and health-focused, so it could decriminalise a substance and regulate any products, depending on evidence as it emerged, the report said.<\/p>\n \u201cA pragmatic approach could begin with decriminalisation, expansion of psychedelic-assisted therapy, and community-led models adapted to local contexts. <\/p>\nNZ Drug Foundation executive director Sarah Helm says any law reform efforts must be coupled with significant investment in support. Photo \/ Michael Craig<\/p>\n
Drug use among adults has trended upward, with cannabis the most commonly used substance, followed by MDMA, psychedelics, and, more recently, cocaine. Source: Annual health survey
Usee of psychedlics, opioids and MDMA rose among those aged 15-24 from 2022\/23. Source: Annual health survey<\/p>\n
The trend for overdose deaths has been increasing, according to Health NZ and coronial data.<\/p>\n
Methamphetamine consumption doubled in the latter part of 2024, according to wastewater testing results. Source: Police
Wastewater testing has shown an increase in cocaine consumption in recent years. Source: Police<\/p>\n