Massey University’s drug survey shows cheaper meth and more weekly use across New Zealand.

The New Zealand Drug Trends Survey is an anonymous online survey of 8,883 people, run from Friday, May 9 to Monday, October 6, 2025.

About 60% of respondents said they lived in a city.

The first 2025 release reports meth prices falling from $563 a gram in 2017 to $334 a gram in 2025.

After adjusting for inflation, it drops to $253 a gram, a 55% fall since 2017.

Professor Chris Wilkins, from Massey University’s NZ Drugs Research Team, says cheaper meth has “important implications” for who can afford to start using it, and how much people can buy and use.

“Higher and more frequent use of meth is linked to greater harms, like dependency, psychosis and pressures on partners and family relationships,” he says.

The number of people reporting meth use stayed static, while frequency increased.

The share of surveyed users taking meth weekly or more often almost doubled, from 27% in 2018 to 57% in 2025.

Users increasingly said they were using more because “it costs less”.

For locals, the cocaine findings are close to home. The survey says cocaine supply and use continue to grow, and use remains particularly high in Auckland.

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