Richard Barge: Hemp Industries Association Chair on the Govt loosening hemp growing restrictions

There’s relief as the Government loosens rules on growing hemp, despite law enforcement concerns. 

Cabinet's agreed to remove licensing requirements for industrial growing and handling crops, although growers must now notify Police and MPI before starting up. 

A Regulatory Impact Statement shows Customs and Police warned of risks from illegal cannabis growers. 

Hemp Industries Association Chair Richard Barge told Heather du Plessis-Allan its good news for the growers and the people who will produce the raw materials. 

He says the supply chain will be well enhanced, and the next step now is to get the value chain established.  

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now the government slashing red tapers around the once controversial
hemp industry, farmers will no longer need a license for
crops with less than one percent THHC. They still have
to notify the cops though, so the police know it's
not marijuana that's been grown, just hemp. Richard Barge is
the president of the New Zealand Hemp Industries Association and
with us morning Richard.

Speaker 2 (00:19):
Good morning, heither. Thank you for the opportunity.

Speaker 1 (00:20):
It's good to talk to you. How is it that
hemp has ended up being so regulated given it's not
actually marijuana.

Speaker 2 (00:28):
It's due to the fact that we're part of the
Misuse of Drugs Act nineteen seventy five, and so all
parts of the cannabis plant are considered a class SED drug.
So when they created the two thousand and six regulations,
they carved out and defined industrial hemp as being between
point three to five and point five percent phc. So
now we have a definition of what industrial hempers.

Speaker 1 (00:48):
Okay, So it was basically us just getting really really
anxious about wheed and not understanding the difference.

Speaker 2 (00:53):
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And you know, there's been a long
time when prohibition has led to the out of marijuana
and that stopped the hemp industry and it's tracks in
nineteen thirty, so it's great to have it back again. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:07):
Now the changes that we're announced yesterday, do they go
far enough for you?

Speaker 2 (01:12):
Well, they're really good news for the growing for the
growers and the people that are actually going to produce
the raw materials that industry is going to for using.
So the supply chain is going to be well enhanced.
And it leads to the question that we've always had.
You know, the farmers are going to say, who am
I going to sell it to? And how much am
I going to make? So the next step is to
get the value chain established.

Speaker 1 (01:32):
What are we actually using it for? I mean, I
know that we use it for clothing and stuff like that,
but anything else.

Speaker 2 (01:39):
Well, the mainstay of the New Zealand industry actually at
the moment is seed. In twenty eighteen, we finally got
it across the life for human consumption, but unfortunately at
the time we lost the ability to sell the co
products to the animal markets, which means, you know, it's
hard to get the economics working when you don't have
a way of selling those co products and making revenue

(02:00):
from the all parts of the plant, which is what
we're after, full plant utilization.

Speaker 1 (02:04):
What are you eating it for?

Speaker 2 (02:07):
For the central fairy acids. It's got a perfect ratio
of a Mega three and six and also a massive
amount of protein and there's dietary fiber in there as well.

Speaker 1 (02:16):
Who knew, Richard, Thanks very much, appreciate it. Richard Barge,
President of New Zealand Hemp Industries Association. I was reading
somewhere as well. It's fantastic for anxiety. I don't know.
Just think about the woman. I'm gonna get us so
much trouble for saying, think about the woman in your life.
Buy her some hemp this Christmas and make her eat it,
and look, Christmas might be a little bit more pleasant.
Will it do anything for my adrenal fatigue? Yep, yeah, yeah,

(02:39):
it'll do something for your fake news adrenal fatigue. Lord above.
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