Recreational drug use is the use of one or more psychoactive drugs to induce an altered state of consciousness, either for pleasure or for some other casual purpose or pastime. When a psychoactive drug enters the user's body, it induces an intoxicating effect. Recreational drugs are commonly divided into three categories: depressants, stimulants, and hallucinogens.
Judith Anne Collins is a New Zealand politician who has served as the attorney-general and minister of defence since 27 November 2023. She served as the leader of the Opposition and leader of the New Zealand National Party from 14 July 2020 to 25 November 2021. Collins has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Papakura since 2008 and was MP for Clevedon from 2002 to 2008.
JamesGriffith Edwards CBE was a British psychiatrist.
Young ACT, formerly known as Prebble's Rebels, ACTivists and ACT on Campus, is a youth group affiliated with ACT New Zealand, a classical-liberal political party in New Zealand. It has supported the party for over two decades though has disagreed with ACT policy on issues such as alcohol and drug restrictions.
The use of tobacco for smoking in New Zealand has been subjected to government regulation for a number of decades. On 10 December 2004, New Zealand became the third country in the world to make all indoor workplaces including bars and restaurants smoke-free. The smoking rate in New Zealand was about 8% as of 2023 when the new government planned to eliminate the nation's smoking ban to fund tax cuts.
The use of cannabis in New Zealand is regulated by the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975, which makes unauthorised possession of any amount of cannabis a crime. Cannabis is the fourth-most widely used recreational drug in New Zealand, after caffeine, alcohol and tobacco, and the most widely used illicit drug. In 2001 a household survey revealed that 13.4% of New Zealanders aged 15–64 used cannabis. This ranked as the ninth-highest cannabis consumption level in the world.
David John Nutt is an English neuropsychopharmacologist specialising in the research of drugs that affect the brain and conditions such as addiction, anxiety, and sleep. He is the chairman of Drug Science, a non-profit which he founded in 2010 to provide independent, evidence-based information on drugs. In 2019 he co-founded the company GABAlabs and its subsidiary SENTIA Spirits which research and market alternatives to alcohol. Until 2009, he was a professor at the University of Bristol heading their Psychopharmacology Unit. Since then he has been the Edmond J Safra chair in Neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College London and director of the Neuropsychopharmacology Unit in the Division of Brain Sciences there. Nutt was a member of the Committee on Safety of Medicines, and was President of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology.
DrugScience or Drug Science (originally called the Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs (ISCD)) is a UK-based drugs advisory committee proposed and initially funded by hedge fund manager Toby Jackson. It is chaired by Professor David Nutt and was officially launched on 15 January 2010 with the help of the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies. The primary aim of the committee is to review and investigate the scientific evidence of drug harms without the political interference that could result from government affiliation.
The alcohol industry, also known as Big Alcohol, is the segment of the commercial drink industry that is involved in the manufacturing, distribution, and sale of alcoholic beverages. The industry has been criticised in the 1990s for deflecting attention away from the problems associated with alcohol use. The alcohol industry has also been criticised for being unhelpful in reducing the harm of alcohol.
Darrin James Hodgetts is a New Zealand psychology academic. He is a professor of societal psychology at Massey University and is a principal investigator with Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga. Of Māori descent, Hodgetts affiliates to the Ngāi Tahu iwi.
Chlöe Charlotte Swarbrick is a New Zealand politician. Following a high-profile but unsuccessful run for the 2016 Auckland mayoral election, she became a parliamentary candidate for the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, standing in the 2017 New Zealand general election, and was elected as a member of the New Zealand Parliament at the age of 23. In the 2020 election, Swarbrick was elected as the Member of Parliament for Auckland Central, becoming the second Green Party MP ever to win an electorate seat, and the first without a tacit endorsement from a major party leader. She retained Auckland Central in the 2023 election. In March 2024, she was elected co-leader of the Green Party. Swarbrick is Green Party Spokesperson for Mental Health, Drug Law Reform, Revenue, Climate Change, and Finance.
The 2020 New Zealand cannabis referendum was a non-binding referendum held on 17 October 2020 in conjunction with the 2020 general election and a euthanasia referendum, on the question of whether to legalise the sale, use, possession and production of recreational cannabis. It was rejected by New Zealand voters. The form of the referendum was a vote for or against the proposed "Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill". Official results were released by the Electoral Commission on 6 November 2020 with 50.7% of voters opposing the legalisation and 48.4% in support.
Lesley Margaret Elizabeth McCowan is a New Zealand medical researcher and academic specialising in maternal health. She is currently a full professor and head of obstetrics and gynaecology at the University of Auckland.
Michelle Glass is a New Zealand pharmacology academic. She is currently a full professor and Head of the Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology at the University of Otago.
Shanthi Neranjana Ameratunga is a New Zealand public health academic. As of September 2018, she is currently a full professor at the University of Auckland.
Jennie Lynne Connor is a New Zealand medical researcher and academic, and as of 2018 is a full professor and chair of preventive and social medicine at the University of Otago.
The Helen Clark Foundation is a New Zealand-based independent, non-partisan public policy think tank hosted by Auckland University of Technology.
Jarrod McKenzie Haar is a New Zealand organisational psychology academic, are Māori, of Ngati Maniapoto and Ngati Mahuta descent and as of 2019 is a full professor at the Auckland University of Technology. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society Te Apārangi.
5F-JWH-398 is a recreational designer drug which is classed as a synthetic cannabinoid. It is from the naphthoylindole family, and produces cannabis-like effects. It was legally sold in New Zealand from 2012 to 2014 under the psychoactive substances scheme but was discontinued in May 2014 following the end of the interim approval period under the Psychoactive Substances Act 2013. Subsequently, it has appeared on the illicit market around the world and was identified in Germany in May 2019.
Natalie K. Walker is a New Zealand academic, and is a Professor of Social and Community Health at the University of Auckland, specialising in the reduction of harm from non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease and cancer. She has an interest in smoking cessation but also researches on alcohol, cannabis and sugar.
