Wellington, New Zealand: Beginning August 1, the New Zealand Health Ministry will introduce a new regulatory system for the processing, cultivation and distribution of industrial hemp as an agricultural crop, according to a press release issued by the Director-General of Health.

The new system will allow individuals and organizations to apply for a license to cultivate approved varieties of industrial hemp, and will allow growers to apply for other varieties to be considered for research and cultivation. Approved varieties of hemp will include only those containing less that 0.5 percent tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive compound in cannabis.

Derek Fitzgerald, director of Medsafe, the medicine regulatory agency overseeing the new program, commented that, "The new regulations ... take into account the low drug [THC] content of hemp, which was previously subjected to the same strict controls as those placed on illicit cannabis". The new regulations come after a two year trial period to determine if industrial hemp has a potential as a cultivation crop, and if the cultivation can be controlled and regulated.

However, Fitzgerald did note that, "the new regulations still classify industrial hemp as a controlled drug and consider it an offense to advertise hemp for psychoactive purposes or to supply it to unauthorized persons". Further, the new licensing system will cover only hemp, while other varieties of cannabis will continue to be regulated under the Misuse of Drugs Act of 1975.

Industrial hemp can be used for everything from food and body care products, to building materials, paper and textiles, and as an alternative renewable energy source. Currently over 30 other countries have laws allowing the cultivation and production of industrial hemp.

New Zealand Hemp Industries Association

New Zealand Journal of Crop and Horticultural Science abstracts

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Potential economic viability of growing industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa) at the Taupo, New Zealand effluent disposal site J. P. J. Eerens AgResearch Limited Ruakura Research Centre Private Bag 3123 Hamilton, New Zealand email: han.eerens@agresearch.co.nz

Abstract A cost-benefit analysis of growing industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa) at the Taupo District Council effluent disposal site, Taupo, New Zealand was compared to the actual costs and returns of the current operation of growing grass cut and sold as silage. The lack of agronomic data from hemp grown in New Zealand meant that major assumptions were made. One assumption was that hemp can be re-grown from stubble for a second cut, as long as the first cut takes place before the onset of reproductive growth.

If two cuts can be made in a season from a single sowing, hemp might be grown at similar economic returns to the silage operation if fibre prices are NZ$100-160/t. If only a single cut is possible, fibre prices need to be between NZ$220 and NZ$330/t.

Prices for both situations are well below the price of NZ$600/t paid for imported fibre from China although the latter price includes the cost of retting. The relative low fibre prices required for achieving the status quo economically in relation to what a manufacturer is prepared to pay for hemp fibre indicates that growing industrial hemp in New Zealand could be economically viable. However, there is a need for field trials to establish hemp yields and to develop agronomic protocols in New Zealand.

Keywords cost-benefit analysis; Cannabis sativa; effluent; fibre; industrial hemp

H02066 Received 5 September 2002; accepted 10 April 2003; published 8 August 2003 New Zealand Journal of Crop and Horticultural Science, 2003, Vol. 31: 203-208 0014-0671/03/3103-0203 $7.00 © The Royal Society of New Zealand 2003

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Hemp for raw materials and oil as base material for food and construction is the only solution out of the unsustainable mess we have created.

Hemp was made illegal in 1937 through a conspiracy of prominent industrials and because of the perjury, lies, racism and blasphemy of a man named Harry J. Anslinger.