NZ priciest place to buy cocaine and MDMA: Global Drug Survey 2018

Tuesday, 8 May 2018

Kiwis are paying through the nose for party drugs in New Zealand. (video first published in May 2018)

Kiwis love a bargain, but you're not going to get one if you're after real party drugs in New Zealand, according to new figures.

New Zealanders told the Global Drug Survey (GDS) 2018 they paid more than $360 on average for a gram of cocaine – nearly four times what Americans said they paid.

Kiwis also paid the most for MDMA pills, and the fourth-highest price for LSD compared with the 20 countries surveyed in the GDS.

The survey is an annual stocktake of drug habits around the world, released today. Stuff is the GDS media partner in New Zealand.

Our small population and the high risks associated with border control have long made party drugs expensive, NZ Drug Foundation director Ross Bell said. He warned 'bargains' were often not the real thing.

* Most drugs tested at festival not the real thing

* New Zealand's part in the Global Drug Survey 2018**

Kiwi respondents to the GDS said they paid more for cocaine per gram than anywhere else in the world.

'Because things like coke and MDMA are so expensive, Kiwis 'cause we're cheap asses we will buy the shittier but cheaper drugs,' Bell said.

'This is why meth became so big in New Zealand because we couldn't get our hands on MDMA and coke and thought f… it, we will just make our own drug, and make a potent thing out of cold and flu medicine and whatever.'

Last year's GDS revealed Australia was the dearest place to buy cocaine, at $364.50 per gram, but while New Zealand's market has only risen slightly in price, Australia's dropped by about $30, giving us the top spot.

If you're paying $360 per gram it's likely you're getting real cocaine, but that was never guaranteed, Bell said.

'If you're a novice user and you don't have a relationship with the dealer, they might be selling you something else.'

In New Zealand, almost 80 per cent of GDS users got cocaine from friends or friends of friends, which helped to keep some degree of accountability, Bell said.

Ross Bell, executive director of the NZ Drug Foundation says the high price of party drugs in NZ gives way to 'cheaper, shittier drugs'.

'If you rip off your mates you're likely to get smacked over pretty fast.'

Sixteen per cent of Kiwis got coke from dealers they knew, and just under 3 per cent used darknet markets. Just 1.4 per cent got it on the street or from unknown dealers.

Of course, there's no telling how many respondents to the GDS had cheaper synthetics without knowing it, Bell said, which was especially common with MDMA.

MDMA per pill was the dearest in NZ, at almost $35 per pill, according to the GDS.

Pills had a greater chance of being real MDMA, said Bell, who is also in the drug quality control group, Know Your Stuff NZ.

'With crystals or white powders we have tested we're more likely to say 'sorry you have one of these cathinones.''

Cathinones are a family of synthetics also referred to as bath salts or the zombie drug, and can have dire consequences if taken as liberally as MDMA.

The most common cathinone seen this year was n-ethylpentylone, Know Your Stuff director Wendy Allison said.

'People sort of double drop MDMA and if they do what they think is MDMA and drop this stuff that's actually six doses.'

The consequences of that can be serious anxiety, paranoia, and not being able to sleep for up to 36 hours, she said.

Allison believed the premium prices here could be why some Kiwis were reluctant to toss imitations.

When Allison tests drugs at festivals around the country, more that 50 per cent of people will want to destroy them if they're not what they expected, she said. But many won't.

'Less than 50 per cent still want to take it, but they might say 'I'm going to approach this with much more caution now.'

MDMA or ecstasy was more per pill than anywhere else, according to respondents to the GDS.

'It almost feels like the price and availability in New Zealand is making people less willing to part with their drugs.'

A sheet of 'N-Bomb' seized by New Zealand Police in 2016. People can often think they have LSD when they have N-Bomb, which is much more potent.

Bell said it appeared hallucinogens, including LSD, were making a comeback, but historically a lot of the stuff sold in New Zealand was a potent synthetic known as N-Bomb.

'With N-Bomb, one drop might be a good time, two drops might get you in real trouble and three drops could kill you.'

But Allison said Know Your Stuff was finding N-Bomb less frequently than it used to, with the majority of LSD tested in recent years found to be in the LSD category.

The GDS put New Zealand as the fourth-dearest place to buy LSD pills, at $18.45 per single gram tab, compared with a global average of $13.88.

In total, 3223 Kiwis took part in the GDS 2018, accounting for 2.2 per cent of the total number of respondents.

The GDS 2018 crunched data from 130,000 people from more than 40 countries.