Methamphetamine and cannabis are becoming cheaper and there is a sharp increase in cannabis availability, a survey of drug trends in New Zealand shows.

Massey University SHORE and Whāriki Research Centre's online survey was completed by more than 13,000 people with knowledge of drug use and markets, between August 2022 and February 2023.

Drugs research team leader associate professor Chris Wilkins says the sharp rise in reported cannabis availability might reflect the introduction of the Medicinal Cannabis Scheme in 2020, a shift away from strong crackdowns on cannabis possession and small scale cultivation, as well as a change in public attitudes to cannabis following the recent referendum and debate.

"The mean price for an ounce of cannabis declined from $368 in 2017/18 to $336 in 2022/23, perhaps reflecting less enforcement pressure."

Forty-five per cent say they found it "very easy" to obtain cannabis over the past year, compared to just 14 per cent in 2017/2018.

It found the average price of a gram of meth has dropped by 28 per cent compared to four years ago (down from $563 per gram in 2017/18 to $406 per gram in 2022/23), although 2020 saw a record low of $390 per gram.

The survey's findings were consistent with the seizures of meth at the border and detection in national wastewater testing, says Chris.

"They reflect the increasingly industrial large scale production of meth in the South East Asia, East Asia and the Americas regions."

Also consistent with border seizures and wastewater testing is the finding of increasing cocaine use in urban centres, specifically Auckland, he says.

"There has been a surge in global cocaine production which may have produced stock available to test new markets, like New Zealand."

However, the survey found ectasy has become more difficult to source, with prices rising in the past year.

"The Covid-19 pandemic reportedly hit global ecstasy production particularly hard, and as New Zealand is far from main production countries and a small market, this supply side shock may have had a more lasting impact."

While psychedelic use has remained largely stable, availability increased in the past year and there was a slight decline in price, according to the survey.

"There are a range of synthetic psychedelics on the market these days in addition to the traditional LSD, such as NBOMes, and growing interest in their therapeutic properties, which may have spurred greater supply."

More findings from the survey can be found here.

-RNZ.