New Zealanders using cannabis for predominantly medical reasons are increasingly turning to legal healthcare pathways to access products, with declining stigma and rising doctor awareness of the medicine partially behind the trend, research has found.
In 2022/23, fewer than one in 10 medical users obtained a prescription for their cannabis. That had climbed to 37% in 2024, according to the annual New Zealand Drug Trends Survey (NZDTS) conducted by the Shore and Whariki Research Centre at Massey University’s College of Health.
Although barriers remain, researchers found users are more confident about visiting a health professional.
Of 1,742 respondents who claimed all or most of their cannabis use was for medical purposes, 60% said they had not approached a health professional, down from 85% in 2022/23 and 93% in 2020, when the Medicinal Cannabis Scheme launched in New Zealand.
Authors of the NZDTS report said the data was encouraging.
“The increase in access to prescriptions may reflect GP familiarity with the Medicinal Cannabis Scheme and the establishment of private cannabis clinics,” they said, adding that one in five respondents now source their medicine mainly through clinics.
However, they noted that most medicinal users still obtain cannabis from illegal sources, including personal networks such as friends and family (25%), as well as drug dealers (24%), with 9% preferring to grow their own.
“Many medicinal cannabis users in the NZDTS didn’t ask their doctor for a prescription because they were happy with these alternative sources, and because they perceived legal products as too expensive,” the report added.
Nevertheless, data showed the obstacles to visiting a doctor, perceived or otherwise, were reducing among users.
Asked why they have not asked a health professional about medicinal cannabis, 42% said they presumed the doctor would dismiss it, 40% were too “embarrassed” about the stigma, and 16% believed the product range was too limited, down from 56%, 44% and 25% respectively the previous year.
Only the cost of legal cannabis became a more pressing concern, with 55% saying it was too expensive, up from 50% in the 2022/23 survey.
Overall, 19% of respondents believed access to medical cannabis had become easier, up from 15%, with less than one in 10 suggesting it had become harder, down from one in five in the previous survey.
The main indications treated with medicinal cannabis include anxiety and depression (74%), sleep conditions (72%) and pain (59%).
More than four in 10 women using medicinal cannabis did so to treat women’s health issues including endometriosis and pre-menstrual tension.
The Massey University survey, which targeted people with recent experience and knowledge of drug use and which drew almost 10,800 respondents, also explored attitudes to policy reform of recreational use.
As in 2022/23, 28% favoured a “strictly” regulated legal market, 25% a “lightly” regulated approach – down from 29% – and 27% wanted decriminalisation only, up from 22%.
Only 4% wanted prohibition to continue, a marginal increase from 3%.
Exploring the political leanings of respondents, researchers found high proportions of conservative voters supported a strictly regulated market and decriminalisation and only a minority backing prohibition.
High proportions of more liberal left voters also supported a strictly regulated market and decriminalisation, with a minority supporting a free market.
“This shows that preferences for cannabis law reform are more nuanced than a simple binary question about supporting cannabis legalisation, and people with different ideological views can still support the same reform options and share common concerns,” the authors said.
