MDMA soaring in popularity in New Zealand, making its way into high schools

NewsHub 6 June 2021
There are more ‘party drugs’ in New Zealand than ever before and some are making their way into our high schools.

The amount of MDMA, GHB, ketamine and LSD seized by police and Customs has shot up significantly over the past two years.

LSD or ‘acid’ tabs seizures went up 30 percent compared to 2019.

Nearly twice the amount of GHB – also known as ‘fantasy’ or ‘liquid ecstasy’ – was collected by police and Customs in 2020 and seizures of ketamine also more than doubled.

But it appears the party drug of choice for Kiwis is MDMA.

More than a million pills were seized by police and Customs in 2020 and the latest wastewater data indicates we’re consuming almost the same amount of MDMA a week as we are methamphetamine.

Police say some view it as a softer drug, without the gang connections and stigma associated with methamphetamine.

“I think we’re seeing somewhat of a ‘culture shift’ that MDMA is now seen as a socially acceptable drug to use,” explains Deputy Inspector Blair MacDonald. 

The amount of MDMA seized by authorities from 2018 to 2019 increased by 560 percent.
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