Cannabis in New Zealand

Cannabis is the third most widely used recreational drug in New Zealand, after alcohol and tobacco, and the most widely used illegal drug. 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. 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. There are political efforts to remove penalties on its use for those over 18 years of age.

Among Britain's colonies, New Zealand was one of the few areas where the United Kingdom did not encourage extensive industrial hemp production, as the native harakeke plant could instead be used for fibre. In 1927, New Zealand passed the Dangerous Drugs Act, whose schedule listed among controlled drugs: "Indian hemp – that is, the dried flowering or fruiting tops of the pistillate plant known as Cannabis sativa." Cannabis continued to be used as a prescription medication. In accordance with its international obligations under the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, New Zealand passed the Narcotics Act in 1965, which banned a number of drugs, including cannabis.

Recreational cannabis use was rare in New Zealand for most of the 20th century, with one scholar noting 1967 as a watershed point where demand for cannabis boomed among "musicians and university students."

Cannabis is the most widely used illegal drug in New Zealand and the third most widely used recreational drug after alcohol and tobacco. The usage by those aged between 16–64 is 13.4%, the ninth highest level of consumption in the world, and 15.1% of those who smoked cannabis used it ten times or more per month. According to a UN study usage by 15- to 45-year-olds in 2003 was about 20% and this dropped to 17.9% in 2010.

A 25-year longitudinal study of "1000 Christchurch born young people between the ages of 15 – 25" concluded that "regular or heavy cannabis use was associated with an increased risk of using other illicit drugs, abusing or becoming dependent upon other illicit drugs, and using a wider variety of other illicit drugs". The lead author of the study, David Fergusson, stated:

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