New Zealand has a limited range of ventures producing medicinal cannabis - but the most successful distributor doesn't even sell directly to Kiwis.
Medical marijuana company Puro has just signed a $16 million distribution deal in the UK, but co-founder Tim Aldridge says red tape is stopping the business from selling domestically.
Aldridge says there's no manufacturing or packaging companies that can take their product - and they need to ship that out to Australia.
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
You're listening to a podcast from News Talk sed B.
Follow this and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio,
Ryan Bridge.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Now you know which movie to see and how to
see it and how it ends? Sorry about that, all right?
Did you know all of the medicinal cannabis you can
buy here is important? Yes, all of it comes from overseas,
despite local companies which know already, which are already up
and running and doing it quite well, thank you very much.
(00:39):
Medical marijuana company Puro has just signed a sixteen million
dollar distribution deal in the United Kingdom, but they say
red tape is stopping the company from selling domestically. Tim
Aldridge is the CEO of pre PRUO and is with me. Now, Hi, Tim,
how are you?
Speaker 3 (00:59):
I'm good? Thank you? Cya Cura was enjoying that that
we movee debriefly right, so it check that one out.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
You will have to go and check it out, hey, Tim,
So this congratulations on signing this distribution deal. By the way,
that's massive, well done. But why on earth can't you
sell it here?
Speaker 3 (01:17):
Ah? Look, so the I guess this time last year
the regulations changed so we could export, which was obviously
something we're very grateful for and is an amazing outcome
for us. And this in the last twelve months, we've
been foot to the floor producing our products primarily for
export markets. We do have some local supply here and
it sort of caveat not all cannabis is important to
(01:38):
almost all, so it's very very hard for local companies
like us to bring our products to the market. In fact,
it's just almost it's just commercially challenging. So I mean
the neat part of that is obviously the export opportunities
are enormous demand for our products and the reception we're
received offshore for our products is incredible. But yes, as
you say before, it's it's just almost too difficult to
(02:00):
sort of navigate the regulatory environment here and it's a
lot easier for us to focus on the larger export
markets instead.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
So you manufacture it here but export there, but you
only have to meet their standards, that is correct.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
So we're a grower, So we operate entirely in the
primary industry, and there are no manufacturers here or packaging
some companies here that can take our product and run
it through. It's not as a GMP process, So it's
those sort of those companies and there are some facilities
in the pipeline hopefully they can come online in the
foreseeable future. But right here, right now, we have to
(02:32):
send their products to Australia to be packaged and then
obviously we could bring them back into the country, but
it's just cumbersome and it's expensive and it's quite time consuming,
and obviously they're already in the markets that we are
really targeting. Anyway, it just makes sense commercial sense for
us to focus on those markets. So we're in Australia
at the moment. The products have been incredibly well received
(02:53):
and as it touched on before, just now it's the
very last deal with ips Farmer in the UK to
take our products into London and throughout the United Kingdom,
and an amazing opportunity not only for Pure but also
for the New Zealand industry to follow.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
Sup well, dumbass, So who is it which government agencies
specifically do we need to start hassling about this?
Speaker 3 (03:14):
So yeah, we obviously work with a lot of government
agencies and I wouldn't WANDSTAD of doing a shout out
because there is left handed government that's been so so
supportive for us. So we've got the New Zealand Trading Enterprise.
The Ministry of Primary Industries and Treasury have been outstanding
and we wouldn't be able to get to market and
sort of achieve what we have achieved a date without
their support. But on the other hand, we sort of
(03:35):
have aspects of government that are perhaps less supportive. So
obviously the Ministry Health is our regulator who on balance
do do a good job, and there's obviously some very
good people in there. We have a wonderful relationship with
them throwing people under the bus, but yes, we would
prefer if they could be a little bit more proactive
and supportive of the sector, just to ensure that we
(03:57):
know here in New Zealand, we can obviously bring our
products to market because you know, we've got nearly a
thousand sheholders with a huge community support. You know, we're
wonderful sort of success story as far as you know,
taking this new industry forward, and we get asked every
single day from our community why are our products available here?
For Kiwison Sadly, the simple answer is we're not allowed to.
So that that does sit with the Ministry healthy and
(04:19):
obviously be a wonderful outcome if we could have a
more pragmatic conversation with them to cheese some change. But
until then, obviously we're very grateful to be able to
export and so it's a very successful.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
Term, very diplomatically done. Well done on that. But also
I think I know where to go and her to
talk to. Do you think all of this, you know,
the the not fear, well, I guess it is a
bit of fear, but a bit of fear in the
red tape. It comes to the fact that it comes
to the fact that it's weed, and for a long
(04:51):
time it was well it's still illegal now, but it
was not to be used or even thought of for use,
and suddenly we've changed the things and it's going to
take us a bit of time to catch up.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
That is correct. So there is a lot of sort
of prehistoric stigma and concern around there around the products
and what we sort of have found that the New
Zealand sort of I guess approach to regular in the
industry is I didn't almost a bit uncertainty. So there
is you know, an element of risk involved and because
they're not necessarily sure on how to manage that rest,
(05:23):
they come in with a variable sledgehammer and and sort
of effectively prevent us from accessing markets. So you're being
on it is it is a case of a bit
of bit of a bit of history and a bit
of uncertainty from you know, from from the regulators and
from aspects of government. But you know, we've sort of
proven over the last few years. You know, the industry
has been going for just over five years now and
(05:45):
we've sort of gained the social license that is needed
to you know, to build trust and relationships across all
the aspecks of government. And obviously we'd welcome a conversation
with with our regulator and likewise of the Ministry for
Regulations to you to allow some pragmatic change and allow
Kiwis to start accessing locally ground products.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
In the meantime, Tim, keep up the good work. Sounds
like you're doing lots of it. Tim Oldridge with us
the puro CEO
Speaker 1 (06:07):
For more from News to book said b listen live
on air or online, and keep our shows with you
wherever you go with our podcasts on iHeartRadio
You're listening to a podcast from News Talk sed B.
Follow this and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio,
Ryan Bridge.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Now you know which movie to see and how to
see it and how it ends? Sorry about that, all right?
Did you know all of the medicinal cannabis you can
buy here is important? Yes, all of it comes from overseas,
despite local companies which know already, which are already up
and running and doing it quite well, thank you very much.
(00:39):
Medical marijuana company Puro has just signed a sixteen million
dollar distribution deal in the United Kingdom, but they say
red tape is stopping the company from selling domestically. Tim
Aldridge is the CEO of pre PRUO and is with me. Now, Hi, Tim,
how are you?
Speaker 3 (00:59):
I'm good? Thank you? Cya Cura was enjoying that that
we movee debriefly right, so it check that one out.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
You will have to go and check it out, hey, Tim,
So this congratulations on signing this distribution deal. By the way,
that's massive, well done. But why on earth can't you
sell it here?
Speaker 3 (01:17):
Ah? Look, so the I guess this time last year
the regulations changed so we could export, which was obviously
something we're very grateful for and is an amazing outcome
for us. And this in the last twelve months, we've
been foot to the floor producing our products primarily for
export markets. We do have some local supply here and
it sort of caveat not all cannabis is important to
(01:38):
almost all, so it's very very hard for local companies
like us to bring our products to the market. In fact,
it's just almost it's just commercially challenging. So I mean
the neat part of that is obviously the export opportunities
are enormous demand for our products and the reception we're
received offshore for our products is incredible. But yes, as
you say before, it's it's just almost too difficult to
(02:00):
sort of navigate the regulatory environment here and it's a
lot easier for us to focus on the larger export
markets instead.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
So you manufacture it here but export there, but you
only have to meet their standards, that is correct.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
So we're a grower, So we operate entirely in the
primary industry, and there are no manufacturers here or packaging
some companies here that can take our product and run
it through. It's not as a GMP process, So it's
those sort of those companies and there are some facilities
in the pipeline hopefully they can come online in the
foreseeable future. But right here, right now, we have to
(02:32):
send their products to Australia to be packaged and then
obviously we could bring them back into the country, but
it's just cumbersome and it's expensive and it's quite time consuming,
and obviously they're already in the markets that we are
really targeting. Anyway, it just makes sense commercial sense for
us to focus on those markets. So we're in Australia
at the moment. The products have been incredibly well received
(02:53):
and as it touched on before, just now it's the
very last deal with ips Farmer in the UK to
take our products into London and throughout the United Kingdom,
and an amazing opportunity not only for Pure but also
for the New Zealand industry to follow.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
Sup well, dumbass, So who is it which government agencies
specifically do we need to start hassling about this?
Speaker 3 (03:14):
So yeah, we obviously work with a lot of government
agencies and I wouldn't WANDSTAD of doing a shout out
because there is left handed government that's been so so
supportive for us. So we've got the New Zealand Trading Enterprise.
The Ministry of Primary Industries and Treasury have been outstanding
and we wouldn't be able to get to market and
sort of achieve what we have achieved a date without
their support. But on the other hand, we sort of
(03:35):
have aspects of government that are perhaps less supportive. So
obviously the Ministry Health is our regulator who on balance
do do a good job, and there's obviously some very
good people in there. We have a wonderful relationship with
them throwing people under the bus, but yes, we would
prefer if they could be a little bit more proactive
and supportive of the sector, just to ensure that we
(03:57):
know here in New Zealand, we can obviously bring our
products to market because you know, we've got nearly a
thousand sheholders with a huge community support. You know, we're
wonderful sort of success story as far as you know,
taking this new industry forward, and we get asked every
single day from our community why are our products available here?
For Kiwison Sadly, the simple answer is we're not allowed to.
So that that does sit with the Ministry healthy and
(04:19):
obviously be a wonderful outcome if we could have a
more pragmatic conversation with them to cheese some change. But
until then, obviously we're very grateful to be able to
export and so it's a very successful.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
Term, very diplomatically done. Well done on that. But also
I think I know where to go and her to
talk to. Do you think all of this, you know,
the the not fear, well, I guess it is a
bit of fear, but a bit of fear in the
red tape. It comes to the fact that it comes
to the fact that it's weed, and for a long
(04:51):
time it was well it's still illegal now, but it
was not to be used or even thought of for use,
and suddenly we've changed the things and it's going to
take us a bit of time to catch up.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
That is correct. So there is a lot of sort
of prehistoric stigma and concern around there around the products
and what we sort of have found that the New
Zealand sort of I guess approach to regular in the
industry is I didn't almost a bit uncertainty. So there
is you know, an element of risk involved and because
they're not necessarily sure on how to manage that rest,
(05:23):
they come in with a variable sledgehammer and and sort
of effectively prevent us from accessing markets. So you're being
on it is it is a case of a bit
of bit of a bit of history and a bit
of uncertainty from you know, from from the regulators and
from aspects of government. But you know, we've sort of
proven over the last few years. You know, the industry
has been going for just over five years now and
(05:45):
we've sort of gained the social license that is needed
to you know, to build trust and relationships across all
the aspecks of government. And obviously we'd welcome a conversation
with with our regulator and likewise of the Ministry for
Regulations to you to allow some pragmatic change and allow
Kiwis to start accessing locally ground products.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
In the meantime, Tim, keep up the good work. Sounds
like you're doing lots of it. Tim Oldridge with us
the puro CEO
Speaker 1 (06:07):
For more from News to book said b listen live
on air or online, and keep our shows with you
wherever you go with our podcasts on iHeartRadio
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