Tēnā koe,

 

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Ngā mihi,

Communications and Ministerial Services | Corporate Services
Ministry of Justice

Justice Centre I Aitken Street

DX Box SX 10088 I Wellington

[2]www.justice.govt.nz

 

 

References

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1. mailto:[Ministry of Justice request email]
2. http://www.justice.govt.nz/

Tēnā koe William,

 

Thank you for contacting the Ministry of Justice (the Ministry).

 

We acknowledge receipt of your request under the Official Information Act
1982 (the Act). 

 

This has been forwarded to the Sector Insights team to respond to. 

 

The Ministry may publish the response to your request on our website. You
can expect that if the response is to be published that this will take
place at least 10 working days after the response has been sent you. Your
name and any other personal information will be withheld under Section
9(2)(a) (protect the privacy of natural persons) of the Act. If you do not
want the response to your request published on the Ministry’s website,
please contact us on receipt of this email.

 

You can expect a response by 29/04/2026.

 

 

Ngā mihi

Ministerial Services

 

   

Communications and Ministerial Services |Corporate Services

Ministry of Justice | Tāhū o te Ture
DX Box SX 10088 | Wellington

[1]www.justice.govt.nz

 

 

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: William Rea <[FOI #34261 email]>
Sent: Friday, 27 March 2026 3:29 am
To: [Ministry of Justice request email]
Subject: Official Information request - Official Information Act request –
cannabis possession charge outcomes

 

I request the following information under the Official Information Act
1982.

 

I refer to the Ministry’s recently published data tables:

 

“Cannabis offences” data tables
(4CS9Ac_Cannabis-offences_dec2025_v1.0.xlsx), and

 

“All finalised charges and convicted charges” data tables
(3Al3gN_All-finalised-charges-and-convicted-charges_dec2025_v1.0.xlsx).

 

These tables cover data up to the year ending 31 December 2025.

 

To understand the full picture of court outcomes for cannabis possession
charges, I request the following information for each calendar year from
2016 to 2025 inclusive, and specifically for the offence of unlawful
possession or use of cannabis (ANZSOC Division 09 – unlawful possession or
use of drugs, cannabis-related):

 

The total number of finalised charges, together with a complete breakdown
by charge outcome, using the exact categories in your “All finalised
charges” table, or any equivalent more detailed categories you hold.
Please include, at minimum:

 

Convicted

 

Withdrawn by the prosecution

 

Dismissed

 

Discharged without conviction

 

Acquitted / not proved

 

Any other outcome category held

 

The same information as above, but counted by number of people, that is,
unique individuals with one or more finalised cannabis possession charges
in each year, and how many of those people received each outcome.

 

If the Ministry holds any further information, even in aggregate form,
about the subset of “not proved”, withdrawn, or dismissed cannabis
possession cases where a medicinal cannabis prescription, authorisation,
or certificate was provided or cited as a reason for the outcome, please
provide those numbers for the same period.

 

If any of the above information is already contained in the published
Excel tables, please provide the exact table and sheet references,
together with the extracted figures for cannabis possession only. If any
part of this request would require substantial manual collation, please
let me know as soon as possible so I can narrow the request.

 

I would prefer the response in electronic format, preferably Excel.

 

Thank you for your assistance. I look forward to your reply within the
statutory 20 working days.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

William Rea

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

 

This is an Official Information request made via the FYI website.

 

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

[2][FOI #34261 email]

 

Is [3][Ministry of Justice request email] the wrong address for Official Information
requests to Ministry of Justice? If so, please contact us using this form:

[4]https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...

 

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:

[5]https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

 

If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please
ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA
page.

 

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

 

References

Visible links
1. http://www.justice.govt.nz/
2. mailto:[FOI #34261 email]
3. mailto:[Ministry of Justice request email]
4. https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...
5. https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

hide quoted sections

Tçnâ koe William

Please find attached the response to your Official Information Act request
of 27 March 2026, along with the data requested.

 

Ngâ mihi

Ministerial Services

 

   

Communications and Ministerial Services |Corporate Services

Ministry of Justice | Tâhû o te Ture
DX Box SX 10088 | Wellington

[1]www.justice.govt.nz

 

 

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: William Rea <[2][FYI request #34261 email]>
Sent: Friday, 27 March 2026 3:29 am
To: [3][Ministry of Justice request email]
Subject: Official Information request - Official Information Act request –
cannabis possession charge outcomes

 

I request the following information under the Official Information Act
1982.

 

I refer to the Ministry’s recently published data tables:

 

“Cannabis offences” data tables
(4CS9Ac_Cannabis-offences_dec2025_v1.0.xlsx), and

 

“All finalised charges and convicted charges” data tables
(3Al3gN_All-finalised-charges-and-convicted-charges_dec2025_v1.0.xlsx).

 

These tables cover data up to the year ending 31 December 2025.

 

To understand the full picture of court outcomes for cannabis possession
charges, I request the following information for each calendar year from
2016 to 2025 inclusive, and specifically for the offence of unlawful
possession or use of cannabis (ANZSOC Division 09 – unlawful possession or
use of drugs, cannabis-related):

 

The total number of finalised charges, together with a complete breakdown
by charge outcome, using the exact categories in your “All finalised
charges” table, or any equivalent more detailed categories you hold.
Please include, at minimum:

 

Convicted

 

Withdrawn by the prosecution

 

Dismissed

 

Discharged without conviction

 

Acquitted / not proved

 

Any other outcome category held

 

The same information as above, but counted by number of people, that is,
unique individuals with one or more finalised cannabis possession charges
in each year, and how many of those people received each outcome.

 

If the Ministry holds any further information, even in aggregate form,
about the subset of “not proved”, withdrawn, or dismissed cannabis
possession cases where a medicinal cannabis prescription, authorisation,
or certificate was provided or cited as a reason for the outcome, please
provide those numbers for the same period.

 

If any of the above information is already contained in the published
Excel tables, please provide the exact table and sheet references,
together with the extracted figures for cannabis possession only. If any
part of this request would require substantial manual collation, please
let me know as soon as possible so I can narrow the request.

 

I would prefer the response in electronic format, preferably Excel.

 

Thank you for your assistance. I look forward to your reply within the
statutory 20 working days.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

William Rea

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

 

This is an Official Information request made via the FYI website.

 

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

[4][FYI request #34261 email]

 

Is [5][Ministry of Justice request email] the wrong address for Official Information
requests to Ministry of Justice? If so, please contact us using this form:

[6]https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...

 

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:

[7]https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

 

If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please
ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA
page.

 

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

 

References

Visible links
1. http://www.justice.govt.nz/
2. mailto:[FYI request #34261 email]
3. mailto:[Ministry of Justice request email]
4. mailto:[FYI request #34261 email]
5. mailto:[Ministry of Justice request email]
6. https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...
7. https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

hide quoted sections