Source: Radio New Zealand
Methamphetamine seized at the border in March 2025. Supplied / Customs
The price of methamphetamine is the lowest it has ever been in New Zealand according to new research.
The average price of a point, or 100 milligrams – a standard dose, is now $74.
The price of a gram halved within eight years – from $563 in 2017 to $334 in 2025 – or $253 when adjusted for inflation.
The Drug Trends Survey found that consumption had also doubled within a year.
More than 8800 people took part in the latest survey, conducted by Massey University’s SHORE and Whāriki Research Centre between 9 May and 6 October 2025.
Leader of the drug research team Professor Chris Wilkins said the increase in the use of methamphetamine was a concern.
He said methamphetamine used to only come from Myanmar, but Mexican drug cartels were increasingly identified as trafficking the drug to New Zealand.
Researchers also found there were more people using cocaine in New Zealand than ever before.
Wilkins said it was an emerging drug, as the use remained low compared to methamphetamine.
More than 40 percent of users said the drug was easy to obtain, compared to less than 20 percent in 2018.
The price remained high, although the average cost was unknown, and was disproportionately used by those with a higher income.
Wilkins believed the increase was also linked to Mexican drug cartels.
Vaping had declined recently the survey found. 123RF
It also found a decline in the use of alcohol, as well as smoking and vaping.
“We tracked a sharp rise in vaping from 2020 to 2024, but more recently this has declined, perhaps reflecting stricter regulation of retail vape outlets and greater social controls, particularly for youth,” Wilkins said.
Wikins said there was also a decline in the use of MDMA and LSD, which was a surprise, as there was a growing interest in these drugs for therapeutic use.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
