"Drugs are a driver behind other offending such as violence and dishonesty, so drugs offences are often unearthed during investigations into those crimes."
He said education, prevention and tackling drug supply were key factors in reducing the drug problem in New Zealand.
"Our best investment is a primary focus on the manufacturers and dealers so that we can disrupt the supply chain," he said.
"We continue to tackle drugs through a number of proactive operations and other police tactics, such as education and prevention in partnership with other agencies.
"The community also play a significant role in our fight against illicit drugs," he said.
NZ Drug Foundation executive director Ross Bell said drug use, manufacturing and trafficking was a big problem.
"Surveys done by the Ministry of Health routinely show that New Zealand has some of the highest illicit drug use in the world so it would make sense that that would be reflected in our crime stats around possession."
Mr Bell said the key to stemming the drug problem was to curb demand.
"The law enforcement approach to drugs, which is hoping the police and the court will get rid of these problems, is a real limited and narrow-minded way of addressing the drug problem," he said.
"What we argue is that if there is demand for drugs, then criminal gangs will find a way to supply that demand, so in this country we need to switch our attention on to reducing the demand for drugs.
"We will do that through prevention, good education, appropriate treatment for people who are in trouble."
