New Zealand’s modern medical cannabis model was first legalized in 2018, with the Medicinal Cannabis Scheme officially launching in 2020. Since that time, a growing number of medical cannabis patients have received prescriptions to safely access medical cannabis products. In fact, the dispensing of legal medical cannabis products in the country between 2020 and 2025 increased exponentially, according to government data.

“Health New Zealand data shows the number of medicinal cannabis product dispensing soared from 4875 in 2020, when the scheme was launched, to 265,731 in 2025.” NewstalkZB recently reported. “Over 80 medicinal cannabis products have been verified since the scheme started in 2020, including 25 new products last year.”

The demand for medical cannabis products in New Zealand has increased so much over the last half-decade that medical cannabis companies in the country are reporting product shortages.  The reported shortages are resulting in calls to further improve New Zealand’s domestic medical cannabis industry.

“So far, my focus in the medicinal cannabis space has been speeding up processes in the export market. As a result of improvements within Medsafe export licenses are being processed 56% faster than in 2023, and we’re looking into further improvements.” stated Minister for Regulation David Seymour, according to domestic reporting. “I’m open to looking at how we can improve regulation for the domestic market as well, I encourage suppliers to contact the Ministry for Regulation with their concerns.”

Initially, all legal medical cannabis products sold in New Zealand were imported. However, in September 2022, New Zealand’s government granted permission for domestic medical cannabis cultivation.

A previous survey of more than 23,000 New Zealanders found that 60% of respondents reported that they consumed less alcohol after beginning cannabis use. The survey also found that of people who report using cannabis and other substances, 60% of respondents reported consuming less synthetic cannabinoids, 44% reported using less morphine, and 40% reported using less methamphetamine.