Media release: Evidence supports health-based reform of New Zealand’s drug laws

Drug harm experts are urging politicians to work across party lines to replace the 50-year-old Misuse of Drugs Act with a modern framework focused on health and justice outcomes.

The latest Public Health Communication Centre Briefing lays out the evidence that New Zealand’s current drug laws are not reducing drug-related harm but are instead a major driver of harm. The Briefing presents a consensus amongst leading researchers from the University of Otago and the NZ Drug Foundation Te Puna Whakaiti Pāmamae Kai Whakapiri. 

Research by the NZ Drug Foundation documents the impacts of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975 over the past fifty years. It finds that drug availability has increased, prices have fallen and key indicators of harm have risen despite a prohibition-focused legal framework.

One of the Briefing authors, University of Otago Professor Michael Baker, says the price of all commonly used illicit drugs has declined substantially in real terms over the last 25 years. “Over the same period, rates of substance use disorder, fatal overdose and criminal justice involvement have increased. Accidental drug overdose deaths have risen more than thirteen-fold since 1988. Also, Māori experience a disproportionate burden of harm, including higher rates of addiction treatment, overdose mortality and imprisonment for drug offences.”

Research with communities affected by drug harm in Aotearoa New Zealand shows that more than 90 percent of participants with first-hand experience of drug harm say that current drug laws are not fit for purpose.

The Briefing highlights strong evidence that health-based approaches to drug policy achieve better outcomes than punitive models. International experience shows that removal of criminal penalties for personal drug use, when combined with investment in treatment and harm reduction, can reduce the most serious harms without increasing overall drug use.

The authors conclude that replacing the Misuse of Drugs Act with a modern, health-centred framework would better support harm reduction, reduce pressure on the criminal justice system and address longstanding inequities. 

“Our call for new law aligns with the Law Commission’s 2011 recommendation to repeal and replace the current legislation. Fifteen years on, it’s about time we moved forward on these sensible reforms,” says Professor Baker.

Key features of a new framework would include removing criminal penalties for personal possession and use, and redirection of resources toward health interventions and harm reduction. 

The authors say the evidence points clearly to the need for cross-party action. “Fifty years of data show that our current antiquated approach is failing,” says Professor Baker. “There is now strong evidence that a health-centred framework would better support people, reduce inequities and ease pressure on the justice system. We are urging policymakers to work together to replace the Misuse of Drugs Act with legislation that reflects this evidence and delivers better outcomes for New Zealand.”