Cannabis has "never been cheaper" or easier to buy, according to a survey released today.
According to Massey University's New Zealand Drug Trends Survey (NZDTS), the national average reported price for an ounce (28 grams) of illegal cannabis was $286 in 2025, dropping by 22% since 2017.
The price of a pound (448 grams) dropped by 33% over the same period.
The most expensive region to buy cannabis was Otago at $331, while the cheapest was Waikato at $257.
Cannabis has "never been cheaper", the researchers said.
Associate Professor Marta Rychert of the NZ Drug Research Team said the falling price could be driven by the involvement of organised criminal groups, as reported in recent police operations.
The report said the largest price declines for both ounces and pounds were experienced in the upper North Island. "Regions in this part of the country have a long history of large-scale cannabis cultivation.
"Recent police operations targeting cannabis ‘grow houses’ run by Vietnamese organised crime syndicates across Auckland also highlight the growing role of transnational organised criminal groups in domestic illegal cannabis markets, boosting supply and driving prices down."
The report also noted Auckland police shut down 120 grow houses across the Auckland region and seized 10 tonnes of cannabis between July and August 2025 as part of a large scale operation targeting organised criminal syndicates.
Another factor, Rychert said, was "competition from legally available medicinal cannabis products on prescription”.
Regional average cannabis price per ounce
Northland - $264
Auckland - $290
Waikato - $257
Bay of Plenty - $269
East Coast - $280
Manawatū-Whanganui - $273
Taranaki - $258
Hawke's Bay - $280
Wellington - $297
Nelson and Blenheim - $269
West Coast - $318
Canterbury - $292
Otago - $331
Southland - $318.
The survey also suggested that cannabis was becoming easier to buy, with many users buying through social media, as opposed to visiting a "tinny" house.
"It has never been easier to get cannabis in New Zealand," Rychert said.
As prices dropped, the survey also found that people's consumption habits had changed as the choice of cannabis products expanded.
Consuming as edibles, vaping, and other oral products were becoming more popular but smoking through a bong, joint or pipe still remained the most popular methods.
According to the survey, the number of respondents who reported vaping cannabis increased to 27% in 2025 from 18% in 2020.
Edible use increased from 24% in 2020 to 41% in 2025, while the use of cannabis sprays increased from 4% to 12% over the same period.
The use of bongs decreased, falling from 57% of users in 2020 to 47% in 2025.
There was an increase in daily use among respondents, with 53% reporting daily cannabis use in 2025, up from 2020's 39%. But the number of respondents exclusively using cannabis recreationally dropped from 50% in 2020 to 39% in 2025.
While the drop in cannabis smokers was good for lung health, Rychert warned that new methods came with their own risks.
"If these new means of use and products increase the amount and frequency of cannabis they consume, they are increasing the risk of harm, including dependency, cognitive impacts and mental illness.”
Those saying that their use of cannabis was for medical reasons increased from 20% in 2020 to 34% in 2025.
Rychert said this reflected the increasing availability of medicinal cannabis and the changing social norms and motivations for use of the drug in New Zealand.
Cannabis clinics the leading medical provider
In the latest survey, the number of medicinal cannabis users who had a prescription in 2025 increased 2% to 44% from 2020.
Massey University said this was consistent with data from the Ministry of Health.
The survey found that over 380,000 medicinal cannabis products were supplied in 2025, up from 180,000 in 2023.
Sleep conditions like insomnia were the most common reasons for prescriptions at 72%, followed by pain conditions (63%), and mental health conditions (62%).
"Buds" and other products containing THC – the ingredient that gets you high – were used by more respondents than non-intoxicating CBD products in oral liquid form.
It showed that 83% of medical users got their prescription from a cannabis clinic, as opposed to 21% from a GP.
Around 75% of users obtained their prescription through an online consultation rather than a face-to-face appointment.
Rychert said these figures suggested an "increasing privatisation" of the sector, and expressed some concern about this.
"While the clinics undoubtedly improved access to cannabis-based products for medicinal use, there are also concerns about the lack of continuity of care and separation from regular GP services. The commercial dynamics may also shape prescribing practices.
“Given the association between THC use and elevated risk of adverse events and development of cannabis dependency, this trend warrants further monitoring."
Rychert said "many" medicinal users reported improvements ot their quality of life.
"And there is some evidence that prescribed cannabis may reduce patients’ reliance on other pharmaceuticals with more serious side effects.
"But we need better data and clinical studies to confirm the efficacy of cannabis in many conditions. We also need to understand patient experiences and health outcomes from the new online clinics, and how they compare to medicinal cannabis prescribing by GPs."
More than 8800 people were anonymously questioned as part of the survey, and were asked about drug use patterns, market prices and availability, views on drug policy, and engagement with health services.
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