Cannabis in New Zealand

Cannabis is the most widely used illegal drug in New Zealand. In the population of more than 4-million, 13.4% of those between the ages of 16–64 use cannabis. This ranks as the ninth highest cannabis consumption level in the world.^[1] The use of cannabis in New Zealand is governed by the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975, which makes unauthorised possession of any amount of cannabis illegal. However, there are some political efforts seeking to remove penalties on its use for those over 18 years of age.