New wastewater testing data shows New Zealand is experiencing record-breaking cocaine consumption, which the Drug Foundation says is a sign our approach to drugs is not working.
The data, released by police today, shows cocaine consumption surged to an all-time high in the final quarter of last year, exceeding MDMAconsumption for the first time.
An estimated average of 9.4kg of cocaine was consumed each week, which was 98% more than the average quantity consumed over the previous four quarters.
All districts in the country recorded higher-than-usual cocaine use over those four quarters.
The estimated weekly social harm cost of cocaine use for the last quarter is $3.5 million, police said.
“Cocaine consumption has been increasing since mid-2022. Cocaine carries increased risk of a few harms, including increased addiction and overdose,” said Drug Foundation executive director Sarah Helm.
Meanwhile, meth use averaged an estimated 34.7kg per week, about 8% higher than the previous four quarters, with an estimated social harm cost of $36.4m each week.
Wastewater testing data for the last quarter of 2025 shows cocaine use is on the rise. Image / NZ Police
“The dramatic increases in methamphetamine and cocaine consumption over the last two years are unprecedented,” Helm said.
“A long-term under-investment in treatment and harm reduction, coupled with an over-reliance on supply side measures hasn’t worked.
“Consumption is at record levels, drug use is diversifying, prices are down, harm is increasing, and new potent drugs are arriving. Every indicator is screaming at us to change our approach.”
MDMA use slightly decreased in the last quarter, with an average of 6.5kg consumed weekly. It had an estimated weekly social harm cost of $1.4m.
Helm said a fundamental shift in the country’s approach to drug harm was needed to tackle increasing drug use.
“If we could wave a magic wand, we would do two things: vastly increase the spending on addiction treatment and harm reduction, and change our drug laws,” she said.
“While these things won’t remove all problems, the evidence is clear that it would reduce the worst harms and provide us with more tools to tackle the increase in harm. But if we continue doing more of the same, things will continue to get worse.”
The data from police showed cocaine use was highest in the Bay of Plenty last quarter, while Northland was the worst for meth and the Southern district had the highest MDMA consumption.
Wastewater testing occurs for one week each month across various sites in New Zealand.
Drug use is calculated from the concentration of each drug biomarker detected in the wastewater. This is reflective of the amount of pure drug being consumed and does not include fillers, binders or adulterants, police said.
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said the Government was working hard to turn around the “extremely difficult issue” of meth harm.
