SECRECY TOO MUCH FOR HEMP FARMER

A Matamata farmer trying out legal hemp has left his first crop to rot in
the field, saying the secrecy is not worth the effort.

The man, who wants to remain anonymous because he does not want his father
to know about the trial crop, said he had gone back to maize because it
attracted less attention.

"I found the covert nature of hemp farming a nuisance. It looks a lot like
marijuana. It was only a matter of time before people found out about it."

He said he ended up leaving the crop to rot in the field. "It wasn't worth
my while sending it all the way to Nelson to have it processed. I decided
it wasn't for me."

The Government last year issued 15 licences to grow industrial hemp, used
for fabric and rope. It is the same plant species, cannabis sativa, as the
drug crop, but the level of the narcotic tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is less
than 0.35 per cent of the plant's dry weight and between 10 and 20 times
less than ordinary cannabis.

The Waikato crop was among the first legal crops of cannabis since
cultivation was made illegal in 1933.

The field trial sites were kept secret by the Health Ministry, which said
it was concerned that people would try to harvest the plants to sell as
marijuana.

The Matamata farmer said he would consider growing hemp again when it
became more widely acceptable. "It has great environmentally friendly
properties."