Summarised by Centrist
Methamphetamine use in New Zealand has doubled in just months, with warnings that the country is losing its fight against organised crime and facing a saturated black market.
A ministerial advisory group compared the situation to the Titanic: “New Zealand is losing the fight against transnational, serious, organised crime.”
New wastewater data shows a 96% spike in methamphetamine detection during the second half of 2024, prompting Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to convene the group of ministers to coordinate the response.
During late 2024, New Zealand’s estimated meth use rose above 20kg per week – enough for over 200,000 doses. Analysts say it is still unclear whether the surge is driven by heavier use among existing users or an influx of new users.
Police have ruled out domestic ‘clan labs’ as the cause, despite the reintroduction of pseudoephedrine-based cold medicines.
Instead, public health experts and law enforcement point to a global price war between drug cartels. “Everything in the legal market has been going up with inflation, but it seems illegal drugs prices have been immune from that,” said Professor Chris Wilkins, noting a 36% drop in meth prices.
Competition between cartels, particularly from new suppliers in North and South America, has dramatically lowered costs, making New Zealand an attractive market.
Customs Minister Casey Costello said, “The cartels are now manufacturing meth. And synthetic drugs like meth are far easier to make, so supply has boomed.”
The government says it is boosting border security and cracking down on gangs, while Labour argues the focus is misplaced.
“The government has the wrong focus on how to get on top of organised crime,” said Labour police spokesperson Ginny Andersen, criticising attention on “surface actions like banning gang patches.”
Editor’s note: While meth use is surging, the government has been celebrating a reported fall in violent crime. The contradiction is notable: meth is strongly linked to impulsive violence, yet official figures suggest violence is dropping.
The explanation may lie in the timing. The latest crime stats mostly reflect behaviour from early 2023, well before the meth spike took hold in late 2024. Officials admit the quarterly numbers are volatile, based on survey data, and not a reliable real-time measure. In reality, the effects of a saturated meth market may not have fully shown up yet.
