Kerre Woodham: A golden, or green-golden, future

When I heard David Seymour talking up the potential of New Zealand's medicinal cannabis industry, I was immediately transported to a world where the Far North was once again a thriving powerhouse of the New Zealand economy, as it used to be. Where bright young people could get meaningful jobs without having to leave home, where once again New Zealand's brilliant scientists combined with primary producers, just as they do in agriculture, to innovate and disrupt. 

Now, I realise I was getting a little ahead of myself, but only a bit. The medicinal cannabis export business is growing. A Ministry of Health paper released under the Official Information Act showed we exported more than a tonne of cannabis flower in 2024. That document was obtained by Newstalk ZB and showed that was more than double the 485.6 kilograms exported in 2023 So, you know, there is potential for growth there. 

I had the pleasure of visiting ANTG's cannabis growing facility in Armidale in New South Wales towards the end of last year. I had no idea what I was expecting to see when I went to see a cannabis growing lab, but it was just like visiting a high-level medical research lab, which is what it is. It's not a couple of old stoners growing some weed in the back garden. The security is military level. The level of hygiene and sanitation is exactly as you'd expect to see in a medical laboratory. 

Before you go in to where the bud has been dried and then is taken off the plant and put into the sterilised capsules to be sent off to its buyers, you have to go into a hermetically sealed room and then you have to put on outerwear and outer shoes and masks and then you can only go through one at a time. You're not allowed to pick anything up or put anything in your pocket. When you come back, you have to take off your outerwear. Like, it's the full rig. It's a full operation, as it should be. 

There's an entire research branch where you've got young graduates and young doctorate young people going through their doctorates working on they're either working in medicine, alternative therapies, horticulture, so there's a wide range of skills where they've been given research grants to either come up with ways of alleviating common conditions, get more out of the plant itself, find new ways of growing that are more that need less electricity or, you know, less of the anyway, it was amazing. I can't even begin to explain what I saw. Unless you've seen it, you probably unless you have been to something like this, you probably wouldn't appreciate the level of sophistication, the level of technology, the level of security that goes into exporting cannabis. 

We're so used to seeing cannabis as a way of gangs making money and people being sent to jail and it being something dirty and underhand. It's a complete reset of your thinking when you see it in this particular setting and this particular environment. In an interview, Seymour noted that people have said the industry could be the new high value export similar to New Zealand's wine industry. He said medicinal cannabis is some people's drug of choice and they're prepared to pay a lot of money for it. New Zealand could become, just as we are with wine, a high value powerhouse. 

He said the Government was looking to give exporters more permanent licenses to reduce red tape and bureaucracy and saw the rise in exports as a positive for the New Zealand economy. We need to get money into the country. Not everybody likes this stuff, but there is definitely a market for it, Seymour said. I would venture to suggest that not everybody likes the idea of cannabis being sold as a recreational drug. Some people really don't like that. Some people don't like the stuff because it's gang currency. Some people don't like the stuff because there are turf wars over it. 

But that's illegal cannabis. What we're talking about is medicinal cannabis, which is a whole universe away from the underhand drug dealing that goes on and is undertaken by gangs. This is next level with doctors, with scientists, with horticulturalists, with exporters putting their back into it and turning it into a billion-dollar industry. I think Seymour's quite right. I think we need to get absolutely in behind it and the very areas that would grow it best, where the investment should be, are the areas that need the jobs and the economic boost the most. 

The place I visited in New South Wales is just one of many, but is in a small rural area. Their primary industry appears to be private schools where farmers' daughters can take themselves and their ponies and be educated. And apart from that, it's medicinal cannabis. And it keeps really bright young minds in the district. There's a university there and the really bright ones get the research grants to be able to stay and work on cures for epilepsy and irritable bowel syndrome. There's a whole range of thi

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Carrywood and Mornings podcast from News Talks.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
He'd be when I heard David Seymour, who was our
Deputy Prime Minister, I keep forgetting that. When I heard
David Seymour talking up the potential of New Zealand's medicinal
cannabis industry, I was immediately transported to a world where
the Far North was once again a thriving powerhouse of

(00:31):
the New Zealand economy as it used to be, where
bright young people could get meaningful jobs without having to
leave home, Where once again New Zealand's brilliant scientists combined
with primary producers, just as they do in agriculture, to
innovate and disrupt. I realized I was getting a little

(00:52):
ahead of myself, but only a bit. The medicinal cannabis
export business is growing. A Ministry of Health paper released
under the Official Information Act showed we exported more than
a ton of cannabis flower in twenty twenty four. That
document was obtained by Newstalk, said b and showed that
was more than double the four hundred and eighty five

(01:13):
point six kilograms exported in twenty twenty three. So you
know there is potential for growth there. I had the
pleasure of visiting Antg's cannabis growing facility in Armadale and
New South Wales towards the end of last year. I
had no idea what I was expecting to see when
I went to see a cannabis growing lab, but it

(01:36):
was just like visiting a high level medical research lab,
which is what it is. It's not a couple of
old stone is growing some weed in the back garden.
The security is military level. The level of hygiene and
sanitation is exactly as you'd expect to see in a

(01:56):
medical laboratory. Before you go into where the bud has
been dried and then has taken off the plant and
put into the sterilized capsules to be sent off to
its its buyers, the people you have to go in
and watch it. You have to go into a hermetically

(02:17):
selled room and then you have to put on outer
wear and outer shoes and masks, and then you can
only go through one at a time. You're not allowed
to peck anything up or put anything in your pocket.
When you come back, you have to take off your
outerwear like it's the full rig. It's a full operation
as it should be. There's an entire research branch where

(02:42):
you've got people young graduates and young doctorate young people
going through their doctorates working on they're either working in medicine,
alternative therapies, horticulture, so there's a wide range of skills
where they've been given research grants to either come up

(03:04):
with ways of alleviating common conditions, get more out of
the plant itself, find new ways of growing that are
more that need less electricity or less of the It
was amazing. I can't even begin to explain what I
saw it. Unless you've seen it, you probably unless you

(03:26):
have been to something like this, you probably wouldn't appreciate
the level of sophistication, the level of technology, the level
of security that goes into exporting cannabis. We're so used
to seeing cannabis as a as a way of gangs
making money and people being sent to jail, and it's

(03:49):
being something dirty and underhand. It's a complete reset of
your thinking when you see it in this particular setting
and this particular environment. In an interview, Seymore noted that
people people have said the industry could be the new
high value export, similar to New Zealand's wine industry. He

(04:12):
said medicinal cannabis is some people's drug of choice and
they're prepared to pay a lot of money for it.
New Zealand could become, just as we are with wine,
are high value powerhouse. He said the government was looking
to give export as more permanent licenses to reduce red
tape and bureaucracy, and saw the rise in exports as
a positive the New Zealand economy. We need to get

(04:35):
money into the country. Not everybody likes this stuff, but
there is definitely a market for it. Seymour said, I
would venture to suggest that not everybody likes the idea
of cannabis being sold as a recreational drug. Some people
really don't like that. Some people don't like the stuff

(04:56):
because it's gang currency. Some people don't like the stuff
because there are turf warfares over but that's illegal cannabis.
What we're talking about is medicinal cannabis, which is our
whole universal way from the underhand drug dealing that goes

(05:19):
on and is undertaken by gangs. This is next level
with doctors, with scientists, with horticulturalists, with exporters putting their
back into it and turning it into a billion dollar industry.
I think Seymour's quite right. I think we need to
get absolutely in behind it in the very areas that

(05:39):
would grow at best. Where the investment should be are
the areas that need the jobs and the economy and
the economic boost the most. You know the place I
visited in New South Wales where this particular facility is
just one of many, but as a small rural area,

(06:00):
their primary industry appears to be private schools where farmers
daughters can take themselves and their ponies and be educated.
And apart from that, it's medicinal cannabis and it keeps
really bright young minds in the district. There's a university
there and the really bright ones get the research grants

(06:22):
to be able to stay and work on cures for
epilepsy and irritable Belle syndrome. There's a whole range of
things they're working on. So I'm all for it. I
see a golden future or a green gold future. News
Talk said.

Speaker 1 (06:37):
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