Real people share their stories of opioid substitution treatment (OST)

Welcome to this collection of stories from people brave enough to share their experience of opioid substitution treatment (OST).

Why brave? Because the people who use opioids have historically been seen as ‘the worst’ – using heroin was seen as ‘the end of the line’ and unfortunately, for some, it was. But it’s not only those actively caught up in the tangled web of opioid dependence who have been maligned; so too have people in treatment who are accused of “simply swapping one drug for another.”

Methadone in particular has been misunderstood as a treatment – yet thousands of people have used or are using it as part of their recovery from a dependence on opioids. We know that thousands of Kiwis have regained their lives through the stability that OST offers. And the stories here are testament to the potential of OST.

Updates to the Need help? section

In October 2025, updates were made to the Need help? section, as some support services were no longer available. The updated list of helplines and support is below. There will be differences in the hard copy booklet as these were printed before this update.

Call the Alcohol Drug Helpline 24 hours a day for free confidential information > 0800 787 797

Other helplines

• Alcohol Drug Youth Helpline: 0800 787 YTH (0800 787 984)
• Alcohol Drug Māori Helpline: 0800 787 798
• Alcohol Drug Pasifika Helpline: 0800 787 799
• Lifeline: 0800 543 354
• METH HELP 0800 6384 4357
• Gambling Helpline 0800 654 655 or Text 8006
• 1737 Need to talk? Call or Text 1737

Online support

• Alcohol Drug Help: www.alcoholdrughelp.org.nz
• Aunty Dee: www.auntydee.co.nz
• Drug Help: www.drughelp.org.nz
• Living Sober: www.livingsober.org.nz
• Whaiora Online: www.whaioraonline.org.nz

Community support

• Alcoholics Anonymous: www.aa.org.nz | 0800 2296757
• Narcotics Anonymous: www.nzna.org | 0800 638632

Family support

• Al-Anon Family Groups: www.al-anon.org.nz
• Kina Families & Addictions Trust: www.kina.org.nz
• Family Drug Support www.fds.org.nz

Other help and information

• NZ Drug Foundation: www.drugfoundation.org.nz
• Mental Health Foundation: www.mentalhealth.org.nz
• Te Hiringa Hauora /Health Promotion Agency: www.alcohol.org.nz