New Zealand’s hemp industry is set for a significant shake-up with the government scrapping its licensing scheme. Zoe Reece, founder and CEO of Ora Pharm, a medicinal cannabis company based out of Auckland, says the changes will open the door for farmers and innovators alike.
Reece says growing low-THC hemp outdoors for the medicinal cannabis industry previously cost about $10,000 a year in licences alone.
“Moving forward, this will mean that anyone for the Medicinal Cannabis Agency growing low THC hemp, as well as any other farmer wanting to grow hemp for seed or hemp for fibre, are now able to do that by just notifying MPI and notifying the police,” she says.
“It’s going to remove a lot of those barriers to entry for farmers to get into the sector and hopefully create a lot more innovation, and another primary industry that New Zealand can get behind.”
Hemp is defined as any Cannabis sativa plant containing no more than 1% THC by dry weight. Growers must now notify NZ Police and MPI before cultivation, with each notification valid for one year.
The medicinal cannabis regulations remain unchanged, and extraction from hemp flower still requires a medicinal cannabis licence.
“If you’re using the seeds or the fibre then that goes under the food regulations or other regulations there; that doesn’t need to be processed by someone with a medicinal cannabis licence.”
Hemp for animal feed and food supplements in New Zealand is also unaffected, she says, falling under veterinary aid regulations.
The changes open export pathways to North America and Europe, where hemp-derived products fall under novel foods rules.
“Even though this product cannot be used for hemp for animals in New Zealand or for food and supplements in New Zealand, what it does do is it gives New Zealand access to North America as well as Europe.”
Reece was Director of Engineering in the U.S for the world’s largest cannabis company, scaling operations from 16 facilities in six states, to 83 facilities in 16 states in less than two years.
Research has explored replacing rebar in concrete with hemp fibres and creating hemp-derived batteries more efficient than lithium, she says. The plant also sequesters carbon two to three times more efficiently than the equivalent area of forestry.
“There is so much opportunity, and it’ll be fantastic to see New Zealand get that number eight wire mentality behind this new opportunity that there is in market.”
CountryWide CONNECT with Andy Thompson & Sarah Perriam-Lampp is our daily rural show livestreamed from 11am-1pm. Visit country-wide.co.nz on how to watch/listen or download the CountryWide CONNECT mobile app, available on Apple iOS and Android.
