From street corners to Snapchat: More New Zealanders are buying drugs on social media

Social media platforms are becoming a key part of New Zealand’s drug market, according to new research from the New Zealand Drug Trend survey (NZDTS).

The survey found the amount of meth purchased via social media has increased from 9 per cent in 2020 to 21 per cent in 2025.

Similarly, the amount of cocaine purchased via social media more than tripled, from 4 per cent in 2020 to 14 per cent in 2025.

Dr Robin van der Sanden of the NZ Drug Research Team at Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa Massey University’s SHORE & Whariki Research Centre, says social media platforms have become an attractive option for buying drugs because they are already a part of everyday life.

“We do so much on social media, it’s such an easy way of connecting with people.

“[Social media] has really become a core way that people feel they can dip their toe into the drug market, without the more serious elements of it.”

While Facebook/Messenger is most widely used in New Zealand, Snapchat use was used by 34% of survey respondents to purchase drugs.

Survey findings show the use of Snapchat was notably higher in parts of the South Island, including Otago and Canterbury, suggesting increased popularity among student populations.

Dr van der Sanden says students likely gravitate to Snapchat because it’s “got a bit of security that other apps don’t”.

“Snaps appear to automatically get deleted after 24-hours if you don’t manually save them… and you can sign up with a different username without using your phone number etc”.

A third-year Otago University student, who did not wish to be named, says it is extremely easy to buy drugs through social media in Dunedin.

“Everyone here knows who has them [drugs] and who to message on Snapchat… they even do drops to you.

“You just go to the car, give them money and then boom.”

She says she prefers to use Snapchat because of the app’s disappearing messages feature.

Dr van der Sanden says low price and high availability are two of the biggest factors when it comes to student’s decisions to buy certain drugs.

The NZ Drug Trends Survey highlighted a 47 per cent drop in the price of MDMA between 2017/18 and 2025.

Simultaneously, ketamine is becoming more widely available and affordable in New Zealand’s ‘party drug’ scene.

Another Otago University student told TWN she’d found ketamine and MDMA to be the ‘drugs of choice’ within her social circles.

“I think people gravitate towards those two because they’re so easy to get”

“I wouldn’t say people are just randomly going and doing it, most of the time it’s at a party where they’ve been drinking alcohol too”.

NZ Drug Foundation Executive Director Sarah Helm says the growth of digital drug markets is creating new dangers.

“In the past you had to visit a ‘tinny house’ and along with that might come a range of risks.

“Now the risk is an escalated and diversified drug market where people really don’t know what they are receiving.”

Helm also says trying to regulate the online drug market is becoming increasingly difficult.

“Ironically, the policies and protections the platforms have in place to try and prevent drugs from being sold on their sites, can also make it challenging for getting harm reduction information out to people.

“Restrictive moderation by social platforms, which is often automated, means that our content about how people can stay safer can be banned or limited.”

The NZ Drug Foundation released Safer drug laws for Aotearoa New Zealand in October of 2025, which outlines the shift needed in New Zealand’s drug laws to support harm reduction.

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AI was not used in the creation of this story.