New Zealand recorded 169 accidental overdose deaths in 2025, according to an analysis by the NZ Drug Foundation, highlighting growing concerns about drug-related harm and the need for greater public awareness and support.
The figure is twice the number of people who died from drowning and nearly two-thirds of the country's road toll. However, the Drug Foundation has urged caution when interpreting the data, noting that nearly half of the cases remain provisional, as reported by 1News.
NZ Drug Foundation executive director Sarah Helm said stimulant-related deaths had remained concerningly high since 2022, amid increased consumption of substances such as methamphetamine and cocaine.
“Over the last couple of years, we've seen a huge increase in the amount of methamphetamine and cocaine consumed. And over the last couple of years, we've seen more stimulant-related hospitalisations and overdose fatalities,” she said, as quoted by 1News,
GP and addiction specialist Dr Vicki Macfarlane said public awareness of the risks associated with stimulant use needed to improve, particularly among older people who may face serious health complications.
“In particular, people who are a little bit older who are at risk of serious cardiovascular complications from using high doses of stimulants, we need to raise awareness of that,” Macfarlane said, 1News has quoted.
People aged 45 to 54 have the highest overdose death rate, while Māori are disproportionately represented in the figures.
“They are twice as likely to die of an overdose than non-Māori and they are also twice as likely to present to the hospitals with accidental poisoning,” Macfarlane said, as quoted by 1News.
While Stewart Pledger-Davies was not included in the 2025 figures, his death earlier this year at the age of 32 illustrates the devastating impact drug-related harm can have on families.
His mother, Joanna Newton, remembered her son as “that joking brother, annoying, super overprotective, super generous”, as quoted by 1News.
Newton said Stewart had struggled to concentrate at school and began drinking alcohol during his teenage years before turning to methamphetamine in recent years.
He died in the back of an ambulance after being found near his mother's home in Napier.
Newton believes someone may have been trying to get her son home before leaving him on the roadside, possibly out of fear of getting into trouble because of their own involvement with drugs.
“We believe that he was with someone and they were trying to get him back to my house and just put him out on the side of the road and probably because they themselves were addicts or dealers and didn't want to get in trouble,” she said, 1News has quoted.
Despite her grief, Newton continues to share her son's story in the hope that it will help prevent similar tragedies.
“I know that I'm not the only parent who's going through this I know that there's other familes and if my son's death can save even one person then that would fulfill him, because that's that's what he wanted,” she said, as quoted by 1News.
Newton and the NZ Drug Foundation are backing changes to the law aimed at encouraging people to seek emergency assistance during an overdose.
The Drug Overdose (Assistance Protection) Legislation Bill, also known as the “Good Samaritan Bill”, is currently before the Health Committee. The proposed legislation would remove criminal penalties for people seeking help during an overdose, with the aim of reducing delays in accessing emergency care and preventing avoidable deaths.
The Drug Foundation is also calling for a comprehensive national overdose prevention programme, with targeted support for groups at greater risk, 1News has reported.
Another key recommendation is introducing a take-home naloxone scheme similar to the one operating in Australia. Naloxone is a medicine that can rapidly reverse an opioid overdose and help save lives.
The latest figures have renewed calls for stronger prevention measures, improved public awareness and better access to emergency assistance, as families and health advocates push for action to reduce overdose deaths across New Zealand, as reported by 1News.