December 10, 2025 • 4 mins
Deregulation of the hemp industry could let seeds be sold freely around the country.
Cabinet's agreed to loosen things up - removing the need for a licence to grow and handle it and just requiring farmers to notify police and MPI.
The Government claims it'll generate an extra $40 million for the economy in the first 20 years.
Brothers Green co-founder, Brad Lake, says he's hoping they'll be able to sell seeds on their website - and that licensing was the only aspect he can see holding that back.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Let's go now to hemp the Regulation Ministry. David Seymour's
on the charge here. Regulation Ministry cutting red tape for
hemp growers. Growers will need to notify MPI and police,
but will no longer need a license to grow and
handle it for legal purposes. The change is expected to
bring in an extra forty million bucks in the first
two decades. Brad Lake's co founder of The Brothers Green
(00:22):
with me this afternoon. Hey Brad, Hi Ryan, good to
have you on the show. What are you doing with hemp? Brad?
Speaker 2 (00:29):
We are basically taking the raw seed and we've got
a factory here in christ Church and also over in Sydney,
and basically we take that raw seed right through to
a range of retail health supplements, mainly focusing on joint
health and sleep right.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
And so what are the regulations that have been cut
that will benefit you? Well, how are they strangling you
at the moment?
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Well, I think, first of all, really you know the
fact that the regulations sit under the Ministry of Health
and the way they're sort of being viewed, and I
think even with this licensing, it's still sitting under the
Ministry of Health. It's still lumps it alongside that, like
I guess that cannabis regulation, this just really means, as
(01:16):
far as I can sort of read into it, is
that we're not going to need to do I guess
a lot of the administration work that's required of recording
seed coming in and out of the factory, and also
for our growers are just not going to have the
requirement each year to be submitting their documentation. And I
think listening to David today, it meant that also it
doesn't matter where it's growing around New Zealand. So from
(01:38):
that perspective, it now means there's a lot more area,
probably a lot closer to residential, you know, because previously
couldn't grow out any farms, schools, or had to be
like basically blocked by a broad maze or something like
that if it was on a public road or so
just all those little things that I think will just
make generally easier. But it's it's probably don't mean to
(02:02):
sound ungrateful, but it probably not as impactful I could
think at the commercial end as some other changes could be.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
What's the big deal? Why is everyone so worried about HIMP?
Is it because it just sort of looks a little
bit like weed, because you can't get high off him,
can you? So what's the problem.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
No, No, And then I mean most people have probably
driven past the crop and you wouldn't even you wouldn't
even think it was him. I mean most people don't
have probably never even seen a cannabis plant in their
life other than a photo. So I mean it doesn't
look anything really like you know, what you'd think of
marijuana plant looks like in a crop. It just sort
of looks like a normal crop probably, So yeah, And
(02:40):
I think I think what we sort of dealing with is,
you know, these are regulations put in place a long
time ago that we're based on, you know, heavy industry
suggestions and you know, basically a perception on cannabis and
particularly hemp, that it was the same as marijuana and
(03:01):
should have been treated the same. So I think we're
still probably a long way from where I think heap
should be, which should just be treated exactly like wheat.
It should be with sitting with the MPI and every
part of that plant as long as it's obviously sits
underneath that THHC level of one percent should be available
for anyone to use, just like a wheat crop is
available for anyone can do whatever they want with a
(03:22):
wheat crop.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
Can you sell the seeds? Are you going to sell
the seeds?
Speaker 2 (03:26):
Well? I think would be interesting to see what comes
out of what the final law states. But the fact
you don't like the licensing, as far as I can see,
is the only thing holding would be the only thing
that would stop us from selling seed to anyone, because
you had to sell it to a license, like someone
with a heap license. But I'm pretty excited because it
(03:46):
could mean that we could just be selling seeds directly
to anyone around New Zealand on the website right.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Well, and what would people do with seeds? Go their
own hemp at home and then do well.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
Well they could do it. Yeah, they could just grow
their own like I think and do and do the bottle. Oh,
I mean you could get the seeds yourself. I think
people you know, the tea people making teas with the leaves.
There's like yeah, I think. I mean, I guess at
a commercial level you obviously need like quite a bit
to do whatever. But I think just even the novelty
of people being able to grow hemp in their backyard
(04:17):
to me sounds like a I don't know, quite a
cool gardening gardening feature.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
Exercise, Brad, appreciate you, Jihan, thanks for being on the show.
Brad Bradlake, co founder of The Brothers Green talking about
the deregulation of the hemp industry. For more from Heather
Duplessy Allen Drive, listen live to news talks. It'd be
from four pm weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
Let's go now to hemp the Regulation Ministry. David Seymour's
on the charge here. Regulation Ministry cutting red tape for
hemp growers. Growers will need to notify MPI and police,
but will no longer need a license to grow and
handle it for legal purposes. The change is expected to
bring in an extra forty million bucks in the first
two decades. Brad Lake's co founder of The Brothers Green
(00:22):
with me this afternoon. Hey Brad, Hi Ryan, good to
have you on the show. What are you doing with hemp? Brad?
Speaker 2 (00:29):
We are basically taking the raw seed and we've got
a factory here in christ Church and also over in Sydney,
and basically we take that raw seed right through to
a range of retail health supplements, mainly focusing on joint
health and sleep right.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
And so what are the regulations that have been cut
that will benefit you? Well, how are they strangling you
at the moment?
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Well, I think, first of all, really you know the
fact that the regulations sit under the Ministry of Health
and the way they're sort of being viewed, and I
think even with this licensing, it's still sitting under the
Ministry of Health. It's still lumps it alongside that, like
I guess that cannabis regulation, this just really means, as
(01:16):
far as I can sort of read into it, is
that we're not going to need to do I guess
a lot of the administration work that's required of recording
seed coming in and out of the factory, and also
for our growers are just not going to have the
requirement each year to be submitting their documentation. And I
think listening to David today, it meant that also it
doesn't matter where it's growing around New Zealand. So from
(01:38):
that perspective, it now means there's a lot more area,
probably a lot closer to residential, you know, because previously
couldn't grow out any farms, schools, or had to be
like basically blocked by a broad maze or something like
that if it was on a public road or so
just all those little things that I think will just
make generally easier. But it's it's probably don't mean to
(02:02):
sound ungrateful, but it probably not as impactful I could
think at the commercial end as some other changes could be.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
What's the big deal? Why is everyone so worried about HIMP?
Is it because it just sort of looks a little
bit like weed, because you can't get high off him,
can you? So what's the problem.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
No, No, And then I mean most people have probably
driven past the crop and you wouldn't even you wouldn't
even think it was him. I mean most people don't
have probably never even seen a cannabis plant in their
life other than a photo. So I mean it doesn't
look anything really like you know, what you'd think of
marijuana plant looks like in a crop. It just sort
of looks like a normal crop probably, So yeah, And
(02:40):
I think I think what we sort of dealing with is,
you know, these are regulations put in place a long
time ago that we're based on, you know, heavy industry
suggestions and you know, basically a perception on cannabis and
particularly hemp, that it was the same as marijuana and
(03:01):
should have been treated the same. So I think we're
still probably a long way from where I think heap
should be, which should just be treated exactly like wheat.
It should be with sitting with the MPI and every
part of that plant as long as it's obviously sits
underneath that THHC level of one percent should be available
for anyone to use, just like a wheat crop is
available for anyone can do whatever they want with a
(03:22):
wheat crop.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
Can you sell the seeds? Are you going to sell
the seeds?
Speaker 2 (03:26):
Well? I think would be interesting to see what comes
out of what the final law states. But the fact
you don't like the licensing, as far as I can see,
is the only thing holding would be the only thing
that would stop us from selling seed to anyone, because
you had to sell it to a license, like someone
with a heap license. But I'm pretty excited because it
(03:46):
could mean that we could just be selling seeds directly
to anyone around New Zealand on the website right.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Well, and what would people do with seeds? Go their
own hemp at home and then do well.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
Well they could do it. Yeah, they could just grow
their own like I think and do and do the bottle. Oh,
I mean you could get the seeds yourself. I think
people you know, the tea people making teas with the leaves.
There's like yeah, I think. I mean, I guess at
a commercial level you obviously need like quite a bit
to do whatever. But I think just even the novelty
of people being able to grow hemp in their backyard
(04:17):
to me sounds like a I don't know, quite a
cool gardening gardening feature.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
Exercise, Brad, appreciate you, Jihan, thanks for being on the show.
Brad Bradlake, co founder of The Brothers Green talking about
the deregulation of the hemp industry. For more from Heather
Duplessy Allen Drive, listen live to news talks. It'd be
from four pm weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
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