New Zealand Drug Trends

Kia ora, welcome to the New Zealand Drug Trends website. Here, you’ll find the latest results of the New Zealand Drug Trends Survey (NZDTS) 2024, as well as information on our team, publications, and other research and projects we are working on. In addition to the NZDTS we are also currently working on evaluating overseas cannabis law reform, vaping regulation to protect youth, the digital drug market revolution, implementation of the medicinal cannabis regime, and virtual reality simulations of legal cannabis stores.

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The New Zealand Drug Trends Survey

The New Zealand Drug Trends Survey (NZDTS) is run annually to provide a snapshot of trends in drug use, drug availability, drug prices, policy issues and help service needs across Aotearoa New Zealand. The NZDTS also aims to map the emergence of new trends in drug use and drug types across Aotearoa New Zealand, such as the growing use of medicinal cannabis, emerging cocaine use, and purchasing via digital drug markets. The survey covers all 16 regions, including urban, small towns and rural areas. Ultimately, the NZDTS is about letting those who use drugs have a say. Drop us an email and tell us what we are doing right (and wrong).

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2024 survey findings

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Survey sample demographics

General survey drug use

Cannabis availability and prices

Methamphetamine availability and prices

Cocaine availability and use

MDMA availability and prices

LSD/psychedelics availability and prices

Therapeutic use of psychedelics, MDMA and ketamine

Non-medical use of pharmaceuticals

Medicinal cannabis

Cannabis law reform

See findings from previous NZDTS surveys

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NZDTS Methods - FAQ

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How does the NZDTS recruit respondents?

Respondents are recruited via a social media promotional campaign across Meta platforms (Facebook, Instagram). Participation is anonymous and voluntary. We do not collect IP addresses and only report aggregate results. NZDTS recruitment takes place over the course of several months. To participate, respondents must be over 16 years of age.

Is the survey nationally representative?

No, the NZDTS is not statistically representative of the NZ population. The NZDTS uses a targeted recruitment method, that aims specifically to recruit people who use and are knowledgeable about drug use, drug markets, and drug issues and policy from around the country. The NZDTS sample typically skews younger than the NZ median population age as drug use is more common among younger cohorts (e.g., the 2024 NZDTS median age was 26, while 2023 Census data show the median age for the NZ population is 38.1 years). The NZDTS sample broadly represents the NZ population for other key demographics such as ethnicity, employment, and regional population distribution. For more information on the demographics and sample size of the 2024 NZDTS see our survey demographics research bulletin.

Is participation anonymous?

Yes, participation in the NZDTS is anonymous. The survey only collects broad demographic information from respondents (e.g., age, ethnicity, gender, employment status). It does not collect personally identifiably information (e.g., email addresses, full names). Additionally, we do not store the IP addresses of respondents and have implemented a custom solution to aid detection of duplicate responses without this data.

How is NZDTS data used, and where is it stored?

Our findings are publicly available and lots of people use them including NGOs like the NZ Drug Foundation (NZDF), government agencies, like Te Whatu Ora, and community groups, like the Community Action of Youth and Drugs (CAYAD). Survey data is modelled to answer key policy issues related to drug use using SAS statistical modelling software and published in peer reviewed academic journals. NZDTS data forms the basis for our research bulletins and is also published in journal articles and presented at international conferences such as the International Society for Study of Drug Policy (ISSDP). NZDTS data is securely stored on a password-protected Massey University server that is only accessible to team members.

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Other Projects

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