NZ Hemp Industries Association Inc

Public Newsletter for April 2018

In this issue:

• The iHemp Summit, Wellington, 5 & 6th July 2018

• Why are we controlled by the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975

• Local Events

• International Events and iHemp Press Articles

New Zealand’s inaugural – iHemp Summit – 5th to 6th July, venue changed to Wellington.

The number of tickets is limited, so get in now to ensure you don’t miss out on the first iHemp Summit in New Zealand.

Stakeholders and interested parties from a wide range of back grounds are going to gather in Wellington to hear from local and international industry experts about the current and future uses of iHemp.

How we can realise the potential of iHemp in the food, fiber and medical industries, what are the road blocks and how we can overcome them.

Introducing common terminology and a vision for the industry, developing a R&D road map and working collaboratively to create a world class industry for New Zealand.

We have the talent and resources to really add value and bring industrial hemp into the 21st century.  We need to catch up, as 80 years of being outlawed means not a lot of work has been done in this space.

Kiwi ingenuity, our unique land and environment have a lot to offer this emerging world wide industry.

We just need to embrace this incredible opportunity,  focus on it and make it happen.  There are huge benefits for our rural communities with jobs and investment in capacity, our economy with export earnings and the production of great products and services.  And our environment by growing a sustainable annual crop

Check out hempsummit.nz  and face book hempsummit.nz

Please pass this on to people in your networks who should be aware of iHemp and the event.

Why are we controlled by the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975 (MODA) – time to bring us in to the 21st Century.

Low THC industrial hemp should not be a controlled drug, as it has no psychoactive properties

In 1975 MODA should have recognised the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961 –  Article 28.2 “This Convention shall not apply to the cultivation of the cannabis plant exclusively for industrial purposes (fiber and seed) or horticultural purposes.”

Clearly MODA is all about controlling THC, the psychoactive cannabinoid in cannabis, they should have specified this rather than classifying all parts of cannabis (including the seed) as a controlled drug.

Both of the above would have simplified things for the iHemp industry as we would be treated as just another arable crop!  And the nonsense of being controlled by the badly worded and out of date MODA legislation would have been avoided.

The constant reference to Misuse of Drugs Act (Industrial Hemp) Regulations 2006, or Misuse of Drugs Act (Medicinal Cannabis) Amendment Bill, is a nonsense and sends the wrong message.

We have regulations for iHemp and soon will have them for medicinal cannabis, these regulations should be controlled by agricultural and medicinal legislation respectively.  And be administered within these frameworks, rather than constantly being referred back to MODA, when the vast majority of “hemp and medicinal products” do not contain any appreciable amounts of THC.

We have the industrial hemp regulations which protect our industry, as only “industrial hemp” can be used to make “hemp products”, and the same regulatory framework approach can be used to allow “medicinal products”

We are not misusing drugs, low THC industrial hemp cannabis is a food and fiber crop and as a medicine, it is very safe with no lethal dose, so how can it be misused when it has been prescribed.

Any cannabis with a higher THC content used as a medicine, would need to be acknowledged by MODA but the actual production and distribution should be covered by the Medicines Act, the same as all other medicines.

A Local event in Marton, Thursday 23 May 2018
10 am – 12 pm, Farmsource, Wellington Rd

Due to demand, Tom Welch, from Cannock Harvest, will be holding a discussion about growing industrial hemp for interested people at Farmsource, Marton, 10am Thursday 3rd May.

“Covering practical aspects from licence procedure to possible returns etc. If you are interested, pop in for a coffee and converse. We will not have all the answers but are very happy to share what we have learnt in our first year growing the crop. Please indicate if you would like to come along so we can have an Idea on numbers. See/like Cannock Harvest Face Book page for more details. See you there. Tom”

International Events 

International Conference of the European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA) 12-13 June 2018, Cologne, Germany

The Pacific Rim Hemp conference, 18-19 July 2018, Vancouver, Canada

Hemp Health and Innovation Expo and Symposium 12-13 May 2018, Sydney, Australia

The Miss Use of Drugs – Medicinal Cannabis Amendment Bill
Hear the submissions on the Health Select Committee Facebook page

Recent iHemp – New Zealand press articles

20 Apr 2018 – Budding hemp industry set to grow
20 Apr 2018 – Economic benefits of growing hemp in Northland under spotlight tonight
20 Apr 2018 – $4.20 coffees at Dunedin’s newly-opened Cannabis Museum
5 Apr 2018 – Government asked to widen marijuana bill by New Zealand Drug foundation

31 Mar 2018 – Trio taking $5m bet on medicinal cannabis industry that doesn’t exist yet
17 Mar 2018 – Kiwi company’s big bet on hemp starting to reap rewards
22 Mar 2018 – Cannabis should be decriminalised and taxed to pay for synthetics and meth treatment, says justice advocate
7 Mar 2018 – New Zealand’s plants may give us unique advantages

International News

13 Apr 2018 USA – HIA applauds Senate introduction of the Hemp Farming Act, S. 2667 will clarify many issues facing the US hemp industry.

Join the NZHIA for more information and support for your hemp enterprise, together we stand!