Source: NZ Drug Foundation Te Puna Whakaiti Pāmamae Kai Whakapiri
New data shows a concerning increase in deaths and hospitalisations from stimulant drugs like methamphetamine and cocaine amid a recent surge in consumption.
The data is revealed in a new report from the NZ Drug Foundation, Drug overdoses in Aotearoa 2025, released to coincide with International Overdose Awareness Day.
The report also shows a change in the make-up of drugs implicated in overdose fatalities, including the first officially recorded fatalities involving nitazenes, a group of opioids more potent than fentanyl.
Drug Foundation Executive Director Sarah Helm says that while the increase in stimulant harm was expected given a sharp uptick in cocaine and methamphetamine use, she warns that this may just be the beginning.
“This is a very worrying trend, even though it’s one we’ve been expecting,” she says.
“Given what we know about the sustained higher levels of methamphetamine consumption, we fear that this may only be the beginning of a serious spike in hospitalisations and deaths from stimulants.”
Helm says people may be unfamiliar with what a stimulant overdose (sometimes called overamping) looks like or how they should respond to one. She urges people who are using stimulants to learn the signs at thelevel.org.nz
The report shows a troubling increase in deaths from novel substances, with nitazenes (a family of potent synthetic opioids) and bromazolam (a novel black-market benzodiazepine) appearing in official drug death data for the first time.
“Novel substances are often designed to mimic the effects of other more common drugs, but they can be far more potent. We have also seen them sold as other drugs, so in many cases people don’t even know they are taking them.”
The report also reveals that the fatal overdose burden may be getting worse for Māori.
Coronial cases analysed between 2016-2024 showed Māori suffered a fatal overdose rate of 5.5 per 100,000 adults, compared to 4.5 in 100,000 for cases between 2016-2019.
45–54-year-olds continue to be the age group most at-risk of fatal overdose.
“I really urge people in that age group to get more familiar with the signs of an overdose and how to respond to one,” Helm says. “There is detailed information for every drug type on thelevel.org.nz,” she says.
Helm says that mixing drugs continues to be the biggest driver of fatal overdoses.
“One of the clearest messages in this report is that mixing drugs, including medicines or alcohol, increases the risk of serious harm. More than half of all deaths in closed coronial cases involved four or more different drugs. Mixing drugs – especially two or more depressants – significantly increases the risk.”
Overall, fatal overdoses decreased slightly in 2024 based on provisional data, but Helm says that the number of deaths is still unacceptably high and not enough is being done to bring it down.
“We are losing almost three New Zealanders every week to preventable overdose – twice the number of people we lose to drowning. That’s hundreds of families and loved ones suffering unimaginable grief.”
“Our current system is woefully ill-equipped and underfunded to both prevent harm and to adequately respond to it,” she says.
The report calls for:
- A comprehensive overdose prevention plan for Aotearoa ( https://drugfoundation.org.nz/assets/Uploads/Overdose_Prevention_Plan_2022_V5.6-1.pdf )
- A ‘Good Samaritan’ law that would remove criminal penalties for people calling for help in the event of an overdose
- Improved access to the opioid overdose reversal medication naloxone
- Overdose prevention and response services
- A national overdose surveillance system to enable better real-time monitoring.
