New Zealand Drug Laws: Classes, Supply Offences and Penalties

Drug laws in New Zealand are built around two statutes. The Misuse of Drugs Act 1975 sorts controlled substances into three risk-based classes and sets the penalties for possessing, using, making, and supplying them. The Psychoactive Substances Act 2013 covers synthetic highs and novel compounds that fall outside the traditional schedules. On top of that sit specific regimes for medicinal cannabis, roadside drug driving tests, and police search powers.

The Three Drug Classes

Every penalty in the Misuse of Drugs Act flows from how a substance is classified, so the class is the single biggest factor in how seriously an offence is treated.

Class A (very high risk): methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, LSD, and psilocybin (“magic mushrooms”).
Class B (high risk): cannabis oil, hashish, morphine, opium, MDMA (ecstasy), and many amphetamine-type substances.
Class C (moderate risk): cannabis plant, cannabis seed, and codeine.

Cannabis is where people most often get caught out. The dried plant and the seeds are Class C, but concentrated forms — cannabis oil and hashish — jump up to Class B and carry heavier penalties.¹

Temporary Class Drug Orders

When a new substance appears that officials consider potentially dangerous but have not yet formally scheduled, the Minister of Health can issue a temporary class drug order. The substance is then treated as a controlled drug for up to one year while it is assessed. The order can be renewed once for a second year; after that it must either be formally added to a class or lapse. As of early 2026, the sedative etomidate is under a temporary order effective 9 December 2025 and will be treated as a Class C controlled drug until December 2026.²

Possession and Personal Use

Section 7 of the Misuse of Drugs Act makes it an offence to possess or use any controlled drug without authorisation. Maximum penalties depend on the class:

Class A: up to six months in prison, a fine up to $1,000, or both.
Class B: up to three months in prison, a fine up to $500, or both.
Class C: up to three months in prison, a fine up to $500, or both. A judge cannot impose a custodial sentence for a Class C offence unless the person has prior convictions or there are exceptional circumstances.

That last restriction is significant. For a first-time cannabis possession charge, jail is effectively off the table in most cases, and the statute steers judges toward fines unless something unusual justifies a harsher outcome.³

The Health-Centred Approach

A 2019 amendment added subsections 5 and 6 to Section 7, directing police and prosecutors to consider whether a health-based or therapeutic response would serve the public interest better than prosecution. This doesn’t create an automatic right to avoid charges. It does mean prosecuting someone for simple possession is no longer the default — it requires an affirmative judgment that prosecution is in the public interest.³

Police Diversion

Police also have discretion to offer diversion to first-time offenders charged with low-level drug possession. Diversion keeps you out of court entirely and avoids a criminal conviction, but it is granted case by case and typically requires accepting responsibility for the offence. Conditions might include attending drug counselling, completing community service, or making a donation to a relevant charity. Repeat offenders and anyone facing more serious charges are generally excluded.

Supply, Dealing and Manufacture

Section 6 of the Act covers dealing with controlled drugs: importing, exporting, manufacturing, and supplying them. The maximum penalties are far heavier than for possession alone:

Class A supply or manufacture: life imprisonment.
Class B supply or manufacture: up to 14 years in prison.
Class C supply or manufacture: up to 8 years in prison on indictment, or up to 1 year and/or a $1,000 fine when dealt with summarily.

These penalties apply equally to domestic manufacturing and to importing or exporting drugs across New Zealand’s border.⁴

What Counts as Supply

For Class A and Class B drugs, the definition is extremely broad. Handing a friend an ecstasy pill at a party is legally indistinguishable from selling it to a stranger; no money needs to change hands. Section 6 prohibits supplying, administering, or “otherwise dealing in” any Class A or B substance. Class C works slightly differently. Giving cannabis away to another adult is not treated the same way, but selling it is still illegal, and supplying any Class C drug to someone under 18 is a separate offence regardless of whether money is involved.⁴

Presumed Supply Quantities

The Act sets specific weight thresholds above which possession is presumed to be for supply. More than 28 grams of cannabis, or 5 grams of methamphetamine, triggers the presumption. You can argue otherwise, but the burden shifts: once the quantity is met, prosecutors don’t have to prove intent to supply separately. Schedule 5 of the Act lists the threshold for each controlled drug.¹

Drug Utensils

Section 13 of the Act targets equipment used to consume controlled drugs. Pipes, bongs, spotting knives, needles, and syringes all qualify as utensils when they are intended for drug use. Possessing one of these items for the purpose of taking drugs carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison and/or a $500 fine. Selling utensils for drug use is a separate offence with heavier penalties.¹

The key word is intent. Owning a glass pipe for decoration or tobacco is not illegal; it becomes an offence when there is evidence, usually drug residue, that the item is being used for controlled drugs. Needles and syringes obtained through New Zealand’s Needle Exchange Programme from a pharmacist or approved provider are legal to possess and do not create criminal liability.

Medicinal Cannabis

New Zealand runs a regulated medicinal cannabis scheme under the Misuse of Drugs (Medicinal Cannabis) Regulations 2019, which took effect in April 2020. Any registered medical practitioner can prescribe cannabis-based products that have been approved under the scheme, and products must meet minimum quality standards for purity and dosage consistency before they can be supplied to patients.⁵

Patients with a terminal illness have a statutory defence. If a doctor has diagnosed you as terminally ill, you can raise that diagnosis as a defence against charges of possessing or using illicit cannabis for palliative purposes. The defence does not legalise cannabis for terminal patients outright, but it is available at trial.

Recreational cannabis remains illegal. In 2020, New Zealand held a binding referendum on whether to legalise and regulate it. The proposal was narrowly defeated, with 50.7% voting against and 48.4% in favour. Cannabis plant material stays a Class C controlled drug, and the medicinal scheme is the only legal pathway for cannabis use.⁶

Synthetic and Novel Psychoactive Substances

Synthetic drugs, designer highs, and other novel psychoactive substances sit under the Psychoactive Substances Act 2013. Any psychoactive product must be approved before it can be legally sold, and in practice no products have received approval. That means virtually all synthetic psychoactive substances are illegal to sell in New Zealand.

Selling, offering to sell, or possessing an unapproved psychoactive substance for sale carries up to two years in prison for an individual or a fine up to $500,000 for a company. Simple personal possession carries a maximum fine of $500 and no imprisonment.⁷

Drug Driving Rules

Roadside oral fluid (saliva) drug testing was introduced under the Land Transport (Drug Driving) Amendment Act 2025. Police can stop drivers and screen for cannabis, methamphetamine, MDMA, and cocaine. Holding a prescription does not exempt you from testing or penalties; the test measures whether the drug is present, not whether you were authorised to take it.

The penalty structure is primarily infringement-based:

Two positive screening tests at the roadside: forbidden from driving for 12 hours.
One qualifying drug detected at or above the laboratory threshold: $200 infringement fee and 50 demerit points.
Two or more qualifying drugs detected: $400 infringement fee and 75 demerit points.
Refusing to comply with testing: $400 fine, 75 demerit points, and a 12-hour driving ban.

Accumulating 100 demerit points within two years triggers an automatic three-month licence suspension. In serious situations such as a crash involving injury or death, police can require a blood test. If the blood analysis shows drug concentrations at a “high-risk level” defined in Schedule 5 of the Land Transport Act 1998, the offence becomes criminal rather than an infringement.⁸

Police Search Powers

The Search and Surveillance Act 2012 gives police specific powers to search for drugs without a warrant in certain circumstances. Subpart 7 covers drug-related searches, including the power to search places, vehicles, and people when a Misuse of Drugs Act offence is suspected. Police can also search a person found at a place or in a vehicle being lawfully searched for drugs.⁹

If you are arrested for dealing, possessing, or manufacturing controlled drugs, police can request an internal body search, subject to specific procedures and safeguards. Refusing an internal search is not itself an offence, but the refusal can be raised against you during a bail application and may make release before trial harder.

Drug Testing at Work

There is no blanket law requiring employers to drug test their workers. The Health and Safety at Work Act requires employers to take all practicable steps to maintain a safe workplace, and some employers rely on that duty to justify testing in safety-sensitive roles like transport, construction, and heavy machinery operation.

Testing cannot be sprung on employees without a basis. It must be written into employment agreements or a formal workplace policy that employees have been made aware of, and employers must comply with the Privacy Act when handling results. You can refuse a test, but if testing is a condition of employment, a refusal may be treated as a breach of your agreement. Any preliminary positive from a urine or saliva screen must be confirmed by a licensed laboratory before an employer can take disciplinary action.

1
New Zealand Police. Illicit Drugs – Offences and Penalties
2
Ministry of Health NZ. Temporary Class Drug Orders
3
New Zealand Legal Information Institute. Misuse of Drugs Act 1975 – Sect 7 Possession and Use of Controlled Drugs
4
New Zealand Legal Information Institute. Misuse of Drugs Act 1975 – Sect 6 Dealing With Controlled Drugs
5
New Zealand Legislation. Misuse of Drugs (Medicinal Cannabis) Regulations 2019
6
Electoral Commission New Zealand. E9 Statistics – Referendums Results
7
New Zealand Legislation. Psychoactive Substances Act 2013
8
New Zealand Police. Penalties and Outcomes
9
New Zealand Legislation. Search and Surveillance Act 2012