Latest Posts

On December 19th the first person tested positive under the new roadside drug testing regime. The NZ Police press release on this issue, statements by the Director of road policing, Superintendent Steve Greally, and two articles from the NZ Herald and 1News incorrectly stated that the driver was under the influence of methamphetamine and that he tested "positive for methamphetamine" despite the cited evidence being incapable of showing this. These false claims give the idea t

Students for Sensible Drug Policy Aotearoa New Zealand ( SSDP ) has today lodged two formal complaints with the NZ Herald and 1News regarding what it describes as “misleading, inaccurate, and stigmatising reporting” in an article published by the NZ Herald on 19 December 2025 titled “Wellington meth driver with young daughter in car first to fail new roadside test.” and another, by 1News on the same day titled “First positive roadside drug test: Dad driving on meth with child

2025 has been a good year for SSDP. Whilst chapter activities in Dunedin have wound down, our Auckland chapter has really started to gain traction, and we have created a nationwide group for larger scale advocacy purposes enabling anyone across the country to engage with SSDP regardless of whether there is a chapter in their area. The Auckland chapter started the year off with a stall at the University of Auckland’s clubs expo where we talked to students about reducing harm f

There has been some confusion around the new rollout of roadside drug testing in Aotearoa. This regime has been marketed as a measure to reduce the incidence of people driving whilst impaired from drugs other than alcohol. However, this is clearly a charade with there being no evidence that such results will occur, and the regime being setup in a way which clearly just prohibits driving by anyone who has recently used drugs – not just those who are impaired. This new testing

According to wastewater testing results, methamphetamine use has risen by 96% from 2023 to 2024. Addiction services are also reporting a surge in use. Casey Costello, Associate Police Minister and Customs Minister, has recently highlighted that the only way to stop this is to combat the profitability of organised crime in New Zealand (Hanly & Reporter, 2025); however, few effective measures for doing this have been suggested. Such a supply-side focus is unsurprising from the

Students for Sensible Drug Policy New Zealand (SSDP) is a student and youth-focused group with a vision of ‘An Aotearoa free from...

Students for Sensible Drug Policy Aotearoa New Zealand has hosted a harm reduction training seminar through their chapter in Tāmaki...

Students for Sensible Drug Policy Aotearoa New Zealand has made a submission on the Regulatory Standards Bill. This bill introduces a...

Students for Sensible Drug Policy New Zealand (SSDP) is a student and youth focused group with a vision of ‘An Aotearoa free from drug...

The Pharmacology and Therapeutics Advisory (PTAC) expert committee have just released a report recommending that Pharmac fund naloxone...

By Max Phillips, President of Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) Ōtepoti-Dunedin Let’s start with some facts: In a sample of 1,540...

Recently, the Ōtepoti-Dunedin chapter of SSDP Aotearoa has been in the news for being instrumental in shutting down a local retailer who...

Today is the 80th anniversary of the first ever intentional LSD trip. On April 19 1943, Albert Hoffman, a Swiss Chemist, deliberately...

Ganja, Dak, Bud, Pot, Good Good ‘erb, Nug, MJ, Reefer, Flower, Trees, Weed, Marijuana, or Cannabis Sativa. There are a lot of names for...