Drugs

One of the men charged with importing 35kg of cocaine hidden inside a jewel encrusted horse's head says he was not making ends meet and his greed got the better of him.

New Zealand should move towards decriminalising cannabis over time, Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne says.

Cardboard boxes were used to replicate bricks of cocaine found inside a diamond-encrusted horse-head statue, a senior customs officer has told a jury.

The lawyers for two men accused over the country's biggest ever cocaine bust insist their clients had no idea drugs were inside a horse-head statue. Audio

The case of a kindergarten teacher who was told to take drug tests or risk losing her job has two of the country's main educational bodies butting heads.

Gangs, known for importing, manufacturing and selling drugs, are worried about their young, drug-addicted members and want the government to help them, says the Police Minister.

The Police Minister is urging gangs to work with police to solve New Zealand's methamphetamine problem.

Hemp growers say the plant is a superfood, and not only seeds but leaves and flowers should be allowed for human consumption.

A Head Hunters gang leader who was the architect of a drug ring has been jailed for at least eight years and four months.

Drug support groups say the government needs to fund public health advertising for P, as it does with tobacco and alcohol, to warn people of the dangers. Audio