There was a time when certain substances existed at a distance—spoken of more than seen, associated with elsewhere, with other cities, other lives. They belonged to a kind of imagined geography, far from the quiet routines of everyday New Zealand.
But distance, like many things, has a way of narrowing.
In recent years, cocaine has moved from the margins toward something more visible, its presence measured not only in stories but in data. Wastewater testing—an unusual but revealing method—now suggests that the drug is being consumed at levels never before recorded across the country. In late 2025, weekly use reached an estimated 9.4 kilograms, nearly doubling previous averages and, for the first time, surpassing MDMA.
The shift has not come suddenly, but steadily. Since around 2022, consumption has risen in a way described by researchers as “unprecedented,” with every region showing higher-than-usual levels. What was once sporadic has become consistent, and what was once rare has become increasingly accessible.
Access, in fact, appears to sit at the center of this change. Surveys show that the proportion of people who consider cocaine “easy” to obtain has more than doubled in just a few years—from 17% in 2018–19 to 43% in 2025. Availability has expanded quietly, carried through global supply chains that now reach more efficiently into the Pacific.
Yet the rise is not driven by affordability in the usual sense. Cocaine in New Zealand remains among the most expensive in the world, with prices around $360 per gram. Instead, the persistence of high prices alongside growing use suggests something else at work: demand that is not easily constrained by cost.
There is also a shift in who is using it. Data points toward a demographic that is, on average, employed and financially stable, with many users earning higher incomes. In this context, cocaine has taken on a different kind of presence—less hidden in the margins, more embedded in social spaces where it can be absorbed without immediate visibility.
At the same time, broader changes in the drug landscape have played a role. Increased global production, evolving trafficking routes, and the involvement of organized networks have made supply more consistent. Seizures of large quantities at ports hint at the scale of what is moving through the system, even as much of it passes unseen.
Underlying all of this is a wider pattern. Drug use in New Zealand is becoming more diverse, with multiple substances circulating simultaneously. Experts point to a long-standing imbalance in response—where enforcement has often outweighed investment in treatment and harm reduction—as part of the reason consumption continues to rise.
In this sense, the increase in cocaine use is not an isolated phenomenon, but part of a broader shift in how substances move, how they are accessed, and how they are understood within everyday life.
And yet, despite the numbers, much of this change remains quiet. It does not announce itself loudly. It moves through networks, through conversations, through choices made in private spaces.
Like many shifts, it is visible only when one pauses to look closely.
Cocaine consumption in New Zealand has reached record levels, with wastewater data showing sharp increases since 2022. Experts attribute the rise to greater availability, strong demand, and gaps in treatment and harm reduction systems.
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Source Check: RNZ, New Zealand Herald, 1News, NZ Drug Foundation, Massey University