RICK'S REEL RECOMMENDATIONS | ISSUE THREE | WHENUA Written by Ricky Lai (he/him) | @rickthelai & Letterboxd | Film Columnist I Don’t Hate Las Vegas Anymore (Caveh Zahedi, 1994) A warning: mileage may vary for this road trip documentary. Caveh Zahedi is perhaps the documentarian most committed to self-sabotage since the time Morgan Spurlock ate 270 Big Macs to conceal his alcoholism in Supersize Me . Zahedi, an impolite, offhanded nebbish who is openly manipulative, is as h

ISSUE FOUR/20 | RONGO Ā / DRUGS By Know Your Stuff NZ | @ knowyourstuffnz | https://knowyourstuff.nz/ Hi! We’re KnowYourStuffNZ, a peer-led drug harm reduction organisation. We’ve been checking people’s drugs and helping people reduce their drug-related risks in Aotearoa since 2015. We got the Misuse of Drugs Act permanently changed in 2021 so we could do our job without our clients or us getting arrested, which made life WAY easier. Why get your drugs checked? If you’re

COLUMN | ISSUE FOUR/20 | RONGO Ā / DRUGS Written by László Reynolds (he/him) | @laszloreynolds | Contributing Columnist It is recommended to read your rising sign first, then the Sun after. You can read for your Moon sign as well, especially if you were born at night. Aries The vengeful God of War and sinister Father Time have one hand each enclosed around your throat. This has made speech impossible. Conserve what energy you’ve left; the grip will loosen as April winds up.

FEATURE | ISSUE FOUR/20 | RONGO Ā / DRUGS Written by Jed Scott (he/him) | @jed__scott | Contributing Writer Hello Debate readers! I have decided to review albums in this amazing magazine because I think my friends are getting tired of my ramblings, and I need other avenues to discuss music. Anyways, here are 6 new albums from 2026 that I would like to discuss with you all. Listen to them and support artists! Also, feel free to rip out this page and burn it (safely!) if you

FEATURE | RONGOĀ / DRUGS Written by Stu Paul (any pronoun) Contributing Writer Painting from Jaipur, India, showing the use and effects of bhang , anonymous, ca. 1800. The spiritual and religious use of mind-altering drugs goes back to the very earliest records in human history. In this article, I will explore several different substances that have been used by various cultures to attain alternate states of consciousness for spiritual and religious purposes. Soma was the name

OPINION | RONGOĀ / DRUGS Written by Simon Saez (Anonymous Contributor) Cocaine is one of the worst recreational drugs that I can think of, besides glue huffing and meth. This is for a wide variety of different reasons. It is clear that there are drug options that are cheaper, longer acting, and less ethically suspect than cocaine. So why is coke so popular, and why is its usage in New Zealand increasing rapidly? Pharmacologically, cocaine is very short-lasting and requires i

SPILL THE TEA WITH TASHI | COLUMN | RONGOĀ / DRUGS Written & illustrated by Tashi Donnelly (she/her) | @tashi_rd | Editor-in-Chief Q: Ryan, 18yo , he/him My girlfriend goes to UOA, I go to AUT, she wants to take the bus into the city with me the days we both go in, but I have a good system going where my dad drives me most of the way and I bus from there, it works and I'm getting accustomed to it, but I also wanna spend time with my girlfriend, should I stick with my curren

COLUMN | ISSUE FOUR/20 | RONGO Ā / DRUGS Written by the Hot Lesbian she/her | @hot_lesbian_initiative Before I was a hot lesbian, I was a big stoner. You could say weed made me gay, but I always had it in me. Don’t wanna sound like a Tom Scott song, but I love getting stoney bro. The political and economic state of the world right now fades to the back of my hinengaro. A wave of deep relaxation sets in, and before you know it, kua tau te rangimārie. When I really thought abou

TE AO MĀORI | ISSUE FOUR/20 | RONGO Ā / DRUGS Interview with Anna-Leigh Hodge | Te Rarawa, Ngātiwai Interviewed by Skye Lunson-Storey | Arts, Culture, & Te Ao Māori editor Tū Wairua is a Hauora Māori initiative designed, led, and directed by Māori (Rangiwaho, Ngāi Tāmanuhiri) investigating the safety and effectiveness of administering rongoā Māori psilocybe taonga species to whānau suffering from problematic methamphetamine use (PMU). Skye: Can you share a bit about who you

FEATURE | ISSUE FOUR/20 | RONGO Ā / DRUGS Written by James A. Glass He/Him | @magicalflamebow | Contributing Writer I’ve always found addiction to be a terrifying thing. The idea that you can become hooked on a substance that actively destroys your body, and that you also cannot simply quit, is nightmare-inducing. I’m genetically predisposed to alcohol dependency, and that scares the ever-living hell out of me. The horror stories of people who go through addiction have preven

FEATURE | ISSUE FOUR/20 | RONGO Ā / DRUGS Written by Ivy Lyden-Hancy she/her/ia |Te Rarawa, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Wairere, Samoan (Falefā), Tongan (Vava’u) | @tekaraipiture When you cry, we all cry. Intergenerational drug harm within Māori and Pacific families is a collective systemic inequity shaped by colonisation and poverty. Substance use in Indigenous communities is strongly linked to historical trauma and the ongoing impacts of dispossession. For many whānau, drugs become wove

TE AO MĀORI | ISSUE FOUR/20 | RONGO Ā / DRUGS Written by Skye Lunson-Storey she/they/ia | Whakatōhea, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Tūwharetoa | @uku_rangi | Arts, Culture, and Te Ao Māori Editor Rongoā Māori, traditional Māori healing, is more than medicine. It is a holistic practice grounded in whakapapa, wairua, and a deep connection to te taiao. From native plant remedies to mirimiri and spiritual healing, rongoā has long been central to Māori wellbeing. Today, it continue

SATIRE | ISSUE FOUR/20 | RONGO Ā / DRUGS Written by Caeden Tipler (they/them) | @caedentipler | Contributing Writer Last month, entrepreneur Sir Rod Drury was named as the 2026 New Zealander of the Year. He is most well-known for founding Xero, the cloud-based accounting software for small businesses. Drury is also known for supporting the New Zealand Citizenship application of Peter Thiel, co-founder of Paypal and Palantir, after Thiel invested in Xero during its start-up

NEWS | ISSUE FOUR/20 | RONGO Ā / DRUGS Written by Tashi Donnelly she/her | @tashi_rd | Editor Auckland-based HIV support organisation Body Positive is now offering free sexual health checks to everyone, including international students , regardless of age, gender, sexuality, or visa status. The expanded service comes as rates of sexually transmitted infections like chlamydia, gonorrhoea, and syphilis continue to rise across New Zealand, particularly among people aged 18 to 2

NEWS | ISSUE FOUR/20 | RONGO Ā / DRUGS Written by Tashi Donnelly she/her | @tashi_rd | Editor The Basics Yes, New Zealand now has roadside drug testing. This began in Wellington in December 2025 and has been rolling out nationwide through 2026. This means that the police can stop any driver, anywhere, at any time, and administer a saliva drug test (similar to a breathalyser, which is used to test alcohol levels). You don’t need to be driving badly or suspected of impairment;