KnowYourStuffNZ: Drug Checking Returns to Queenstown & Wānaka
KnowYourStuffNZ is back in town! The drug harm reduction charity helping Kiwis stay safer on a night out is returning to Queenstown and Wānaka with a new season of free, legal, and confidential drug checking clinics. If you’re planning a summer of gigs, parties, or festivals, this is your chance to find out what’s in your stuff, before it finds you in the back of an ambulance.
Drug checking doesn’t tell people what to do, it gives them honest, evidence-based information to make safer decisions. KnowYourStuffNZ tested nearly 4,000 samples in summer 2024-25. MDMA was the most commonly presumed drug followed by ketamine and cocaine. But nearly one in ten samples turned out to have had things added to them or been something else entirely. The other substances we found ranged from new high risk cathinones to gym supplements. Getting your gear checked can be the difference between a night to remember in the expected way or in the unexpected way.
This service also changes behaviour. When results don’t match expectations, up to 50% choose not to take the drug and many hand it over for destruction. That’s real harm reduction in action. (KnowYourStuffNZ also counts found or unknown substances as ‘not as presumed,’ since they weren’t expected to be known.) By getting your drugs checked, you’re helping reduce emergency callouts, hospital admissions, accidental bad nights for your mates, and long-term harm across our community.
Queenstown and Wānaka residents can now access these clinics regularly through summer. Here’s where you’ll find us:
2025:
- Fri, 14 Nov, 5pm - 9pm, Lake Wānaka Centre
- Sat, 27 Dec, 1pm - 4pm, Queenstown Memorial Centre
- Sun, 28 Dec, 10.30am - 4.30pm, Lake Wānaka Centre
2026:
- Fri, 9 Jan, 5pm - 9pm, Lake Wānaka Centre
- Fri, 13 Feb, 5pm - 9pm, Queenstown Memorial Centre
- Fri, 13 Mar, 5pm - 10pm, Lake Wānaka Centre
Everything’s confidential and completely legal under the Drug and Substance Checking Legislation Act 2021. Police can’t use your attendance against you, and we don’t take names or collect personal info. Just bring a small sample, have a chat, and walk away with practical advice that lowers your risk.
Because knowing what you’re taking isn’t just smart, it’s safer.
Find out more at knowyourstuff.nz
