Ms Wendy Allison, of Featherston, MNZM for services to drug harm reduction
Wendy Allison founded KnowYourStuffNZ (KYSNZ), the community-based service for drug checking, in 2014. She operated in a legal grey area until 2020, when her advocacy, evidence collection and relationship building with New Zealand Police, universities, music festivals and others led to a change to the Misuse of Drugs Act, making New Zealand the first country in the world to legalise drug-checking services. She has worked with St John Event Health Services to reduce drug harm at events. She advocated for a national drug early warning system to provide awareness of new substances, which has detected multiple new drugs in illicit use. Ms Allison currently chairs KYSNZ’s Board of Trustees.