New Project: Drug policy in New Zealand

New Helen Clark Foundation project investigates drug policy expenditure in New Zealand and compares current spending to community preferences.

We’re excited to announce our latest major research project, led by University of Otago academic Dr Rose Crossin. The project will focus on understanding how the Government funds its response to drug use and comparing this spending against what New Zealanders think the priorities should be.

Despite evidence of the ineffectiveness of criminalisation and penalisation, New Zealand continues to rely heavily on punitive responses to drug use. This approach not only fails to reduce drug use but can worsen outcomes for individuals, whānau, and communities. There is an apparent unwillingness for many politicians to engage in this debate, potentially due to concerns about community backlash. Among drug policy scholars, there is increasing recognition that the issue is less about a lack of evidence, and more an issue of public opinion and political decision-making.

In the latest project for The Helen Clark Foundation, Dr Rose Crossin will explore why drug policy reform remains stalled—despite clear evidence that the current approach is ineffective. The project aims to provide a robust current estimate of the allocation of drug policy funding in New Zealand between the four drug policy pillars —supply reduction, prevention, treatment, and harm reduction—and to compare this with public preferences. Through a ‘deliberative workshop’ method, Rose’s research will explore whether people’s views shift when given the opportunity to learn and engage in dialogue.

We’re delighted to have Rose leading this project for us over the next four months and look forward to updating you as the project progresses.

Heartfelt thanks to our donors and members who help make this kind of project possible.

About the Author:

Dr Rose Crossin is a Senior Lecturer in the Dept. of Population Health, at the University of Otago (Christchurch campus). She completed her PhD at the University of Melbourne on harm arising from inhalant misuse, and then worked at Monash University and Penington Institute doing population health research on drugs and alcohol, and drug policy advocacy.
Her research focuses on understanding and preventing drug harm and how harm data can inform evidence-based drug policy. She collaborates with harm reduction organisations including the NZ needle exchange programme, and with clinical colleagues in Psychological Medicine and Emergency Medicine.

Rose works with the NZ Ministry of Health, Te Whatu Ora, Ministry of Justice, and Police on research-policy translation.

This project builds on our previous research into minimising the harms from methamphetamine, reducing alcohol harm, and harm reduction through effective regulation of cannabis.