NEW IMPETUS FOR HEMP INDUSTRY

The Greens aren't the only group pushing for eco-friendly hemp to be
cropped in New Zealand, reports DANYA LEVY.

Nandor Tanczos, New Zealand's first Rastafarian MP, will not be cutting off
his waist-length dreadlocks to enter the debating chamber.

However, he will be following rules requiring him to wear a jacket and tie.
He's getting a suit made. A suit of hemp.

The Green Party has long been a supporter of trialing a hemp crop in New
Zealand.

More than 30 countries worldwide, including Australia, South Africa, and
Canada, are already growing hemp.

Almost three years ago the New Zealand Hemp Industries Association made its
first application to the Ministry of Health to grow a trial crop.

The decision went to the National Drug Intelligence Bureau, a joint group
of representatives from Customs, the Health Ministry, and the police. In
June this year, the bureau postponed a working party on hemp and asked the
industry for more information.

Hemp products are already available in New Zealand - the Body Shop and the
Hemp Store, among others, selling imported finished goods.

Hemp is a variety of the cannabis plant, Detective Inspector Cam Ronald,
head of the drug intelligence bureau, told NZPA.

"Hemp is the woody part of the plant. When cannabis grows normally, it's
the leaf and buds that are used as the illegal drug; the actual trunk of
the plant has no value.

"But as I understand it, the hemp cannabis that's grown has less leaf and
more branches and woody trunks."

The drug in the cannabis plant that gives a "high" is tetra hydra
cannabinol or THC. Low-THC hemp contains about 0.5 to 3 per cent THC while
the standard dope plant contains between 8 and 15 per cent.

In low-THC hemp there was absolutely no risk from its being used as a drug,
said Brian Coulter, who co-authored an 80-page report on behalf of the
Nelson-based Hemp Industries and who is an enterprise facilitator at the
Motueka Employment and Small Business Centre.

"So, with low-THC hemp you could smoke a whole factory and all you'd get
would be sore lips and a headache."

The growing regime for hemp differed completely from the illicit crop, he
said.

When hemp was grown for fibre it was grown very close together, about 120
stems per square metre. It grew very quickly, 100 days for a crop, and was
harvested before it flowered.

"All of those things are the complete opposite if you want to grow for dope
smoking, as I understand it."

In terms of fibre production, research had shown that a small area of
industrial hemp could produce 2 times the fibre of a pine forest, Mr
Courter said.

It needed no pesticides and had been found to repair soils damaged by the
overuse of fertilisers. As a fibre, hemp could be used for a multitude of
products including paper, cloth, shoes, and rope.

It also had a number of by-products, which Mr Coulter said could create
cottage industries for the Nelson area and create employment.

"There are resins that can be used for plastics, oils for medicinal
purposes. Henry Ford actually made a car body out of industrial hemp in the
1940s and the original Levi jeans were made from sail cloth, which was hemp."

Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry border inspection adviser Mike
Alexander said it was perfectly legal to import finished hemp products.
However, importing hemp seed was illegal, he said.

Although there had been requests for the ministry to look into hemp, there
was reluctance to, Mr Alexander said.

"If someone wanted to bring in hemp seed, we would have to look at what
pests and diseases affected hemp overseas and what they were likely to
bring to New Zealand. There is quite a lot of work involved in that and we
have had several applications over the years to undertake the work."

However, because it was an illegal crop the ministry would wait for an
indication from the Health Ministry before carrying out the work.

The police, and the drug intelligence bureau, had concerns about a trial
crop and had gone back to the Hemp Industries Association for assurances,
Mr Ronald said.

These included the cost of testing THC quantities in plants to ensure they
were below a required level, the importation of seeds, and how they would
be differentiated from normal cannabis seeds.

There was also concern that overseas research had suggested the amount of
THC in hemp plants reverted to initial levels after two to three crops.

"One of our questions was how you as an industry are you going to manage
that?"

However, Mr Coulter said those questions had been answered satisfactory by
the hemp industry and that officials had used tactics to delay a trial crop.

"The previous government batted its way out to back court. It's becoming
quite well accepted in many other Western countries, but New Zealand still
has its head in the sand and isn't even prepared to trial it."

Asked if New Zealand could miss the boat on hemp, Mr Courter replied: "Yes,
we well could."