Drug Law Reform — Legalise, Regulate, and Reduce Harm

The Policy: Green Party Drug Law Reform Policy →

The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand commits to replacing the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975 with evidence-based legislation that treats drug use as a health issue rather than a criminal one. At the centre of the policy is legalising and regulating personal cannabis use, expanding harm reduction services including medically supervised consumption spaces, and redirecting funding from criminal enforcement to treatment and education. The party frames prohibition as a demonstrable failure — one that wastes court and police resources while delivering worse health outcomes than regulated approaches.

The current National-ACT-NZ First coalition government takes a firmly opposing view, maintaining that the 2020 referendum result — in which 50.7% of voters opposed legalisation — settled the question of cannabis law change. Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith described New Zealand's approach to cannabis convictions as "fit for purpose," and no drug law reform bills have been advanced by the coalition since taking office in late 2023.

What it does:

• Legalise personal cannabis use under a strictly regulated market framework, with controls on advertising and retail placement to minimise commercial harm
• Replace the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975 with new legislation prioritising harm reduction over punishment; the government currently spends four times as much on criminal enforcement as on health-based approaches
• Establish medically supervised consumption spaces and expand naloxone availability to prevent overdose deaths
• Expand needle and syringe exchange schemes, drug checking services, and culturally specific addiction treatment (kaupapa Māori, Rainbow, and youth-focused programmes)
• Create a framework for therapeutic trials of controlled substances including psychedelics, and improve access to medicinal cannabis
• End alcohol advertising and sponsorship at sporting and cultural events, replacing lost revenue with direct public funding to sports organisations

Where things stand:

The 2020 Cannabis Legalisation and Control Referendum remains the defining moment in recent New Zealand drug policy. With a final result of 48.4% in favour and 50.7% against — a margin of roughly 65,000 votes — the referendum narrowly rejected legalisation. The Green Party, which had championed the referendum and provided much of the "Yes" campaign's momentum through MP Chlöe Swarbrick, did not accept the result as a permanent verdict. Swarbrick noted immediately after the count that "it still exists," and has continued pushing for reform ever since.

In parliament during the 2020–2023 Labour-led government, Swarbrick held cross-party discussions about at least decriminalising cannabis possession, but those talks collapsed partly due to instability in the National Party leadership. The Labour government, citing the referendum result, declined to advance decriminalisation. When the National-ACT-NZ First coalition took office after the October 2023 election, the prospect of any government-backed drug law reform receded further. ACT supports drug decriminalisation in principle but has not made it a coalition priority; National and NZ First are firmly opposed to cannabis legalisation.

In October 2025 — the fifth anniversary of the referendum — Swarbrick launched a public feedback platform inviting New Zealanders to share what sensible cannabis regulation should look like. She noted that in the preceding year, 26 people had been imprisoned with cannabis as their most serious charge and 3 purely for cannabis use, characterising ongoing prohibition as a waste of law enforcement and judicial resources. The NZ Drug Foundation simultaneously released a major report recommending a complete overhaul of the Misuse of Drugs Act, including decriminalisation of all drug use and legalisation of lower-risk drugs through a not-for-profit model.

What to watch:

• Green Party's public consultation process: The feedback platform launched in October 2025 could shape a refined, costed cannabis regulation model for the 2026 election campaign — watch for a formal policy release
• NZ Drug Foundation reform push: The Foundation's recommendation to overhaul the Misuse of Drugs Act aligns with Green policy; cross-party appetite for at minimum decriminalisation is the key parliamentary variable
• 2026 election: Cannabis regulation is likely to be a Green Party campaign centrepiece; whether a future Labour-Green government would act where Labour previously did not is the central question