New Zealand

Medsafe approved Spravato on 19 December 2019 (TRD + MDD with acute suicidal ideation, with an oral antidepressant; Class C4 controlled drug) — but Pharmac formally declined the funding applications in July 2024, so treatment is self-pay (NPPA the residual pathway).

Ketamine is Class C4 (reclassified effective 1 Dec 2010); off-label treatment is lawful under s25 Medicines Act 1981 and available through specialist clinics (e.g. Tauranga, since 2017); self-pay, not Pharmac-subsidised for depression.

No medical route; Auckland runs psilocybin research (incl. microdosing studies).

No medical route.

Medicinal Cannabis Scheme since 1 April 2020 (Misuse of Drugs (Medicinal Cannabis) Regulations 2019) — prescription products through licensed suppliers. The 2020 adult-use referendum narrowly failed (50.7% No).

New Zealand is one of the only countries where ibogaine and noribogaine are a prescription medicine: the Medicines Classification Committee recommended prescription-medicine status on 3 November 2009, gazetted in July 2010 as unapproved prescription medicines under the Medicines Act 1981 — so a doctor can lawfully prescribe it (mostly for opioid dependence) under their own responsibility. This move brought previously “underground” ibogaine treatment (roughly 15 informal cases from 2005–2010) under formal medical/prescriber control, based on its therapeutic potential for addiction treatment and a lower reported mortality rate than methadone. Access is narrow — few prescribers, careful cardiac screening required — but it is a genuine legal pathway, not a gray zone.

Active university research (Auckland) — psilocybin microdosing, ibogaine observational work. Participation is free; screening is strict; never pay for “trial access”.