New Zealand

Harm Reduction

The principle of harm reduction or minimization is at the core of drug policy in New Zealand. The overarching goal is to prevent and reduce the health, social, and economic harms that are linked to tobacco, alcohol, illegal and other drug use. The National Drug Policy accepts that drug use is primarily a health issue and should therefore be addressed, at least partially, through health-based responses.

Within the framework provided by the National Drug Policy, central and local government agencies and nongovernmental organizations involved in the alcohol and drug sector set their priorities [Page 581]and develop their work programs. The expectation is that the priorities of all relevant agencies in the sector are aligned with the National Drug Policy and that their work plans implement strategies and measures that support the policy.

The National Drug Policy recognizes that there is a continuum of harm associated with drug use and that there is no single approach or strategy that can, on its own, address the problems. Instead, a range of strategies is needed. This requires the development of specific strategies that are responsive and culturally appropriate in addressing the needs of New Zealand's Maori aboriginal peoples, Pacific peoples, and young people, given the overrepresentation of these groups in many drug-related problems.

Strategies that support harm minimization in New Zealand can be divided into three groups or “pillars,” consistent with the balanced approach to minimizing the harm caused by drugs that has been proposed by the United Nations (UN). These encompass supply control, demand reduction, and problem limitation.

In New Zealand, both the police and customs are engaged in law enforcement that disrupts the illegal importation, manufacture, supply and possession of drugs. Over recent years, supply controls have focused on the importation and distribution of precursor substances like pseudoephedrine, which is used in the manufacture of methamphetamine, and have targeted clandestine methamphetamine labs.

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