Meanwhile In New Zealand, The
Narks and Bureaucrats Stall On Growing Hemp.
Founder Of Kiwi NORML, Now In Parliament, To Push Issue.
December 13, 1999
From The New Zealand Press
editorial@press.co.nz
http://www.press.co.nz/
By Danya Levy
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.
(Marijuananews note: Tanczos is the founder of New Zealand NORML.
See the excerpt from the recent NORML press release below.)
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 hydracannabinol 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.
(Marijuananews note: These people have very high standards for
marijuana, not so high for fact checking.)
See
The Prohibitionists
In Stockholm Reveal The Shocking Truth
About The Potency Of Dutch Marijuana 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.
See
New
Zealand Battle Over Industrial Hemp Cultivation Echoes DEAland; Guess Who's Against It
and
Secret
Report Discovered: New Zealand Ministry Of Health Paves Way For Lifting Ban On Hemp
Cultivation
and
New
Zealand Farmers Call For Legalization Of Hemp Cultivation
"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.
(Marijuananews note: However, if seeds are wanted in order to produce oil, then it
will be necessary to allow the plants to flower.)
"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."
(Marijuananews note: This is a new excuse, but a very bad one. Hemp requires far fewer
pesticides than most other plants.)
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."
See
Hawaii Gets DEA
Permission To Grow Hemp Test Plot In Maximum Security,
Which Where They Want To Keep Hemp Users.
Alterna Issues Triumphant Press Release With Minimal Prohibitionist Propaganda
and
Customs Announcement
On Hemp Imports:
It Would Now Be Legal To Import Bulk Canadian Hemp Into DEAland.
Copyright: 1999 The Christchurch Press Company Ltd.
From The NORML Weekly Press Release
December 9, 1999
New Zealand NORML Founder Elected To Parliament
See
New Zealand Prime
Minister And Justice Minister Make Fools Of Themselves
With Reefer Madness – 2 Articles
Dec. 9, 1999, Wellington, New Zealand: Nandor Tanzcos, Founder of New Zealand NORML was
elected to Parliament as a member of the Green Party this week.
Tanzcos, New Zealand's first Rastafarian Member of Parliament, is one of six Green Party members elected to the 120 seat legislative body. His inclusion in Parliament is being seen as a certain boost for the cannabis law reform movement in New Zealand. Both the Labour and Alliance parties have announced their intent to introduce marijuana decriminalization initiatives.
Tanzcos said he will not tone down his image when he enters Parliament, but he is having a hemp suit made for him to fulfill the dress code that MPs must wear a jacket and tie in the debating chamber.
"The real challenge is to get in there and do the good work, and let people see that we are competent and serious, and we can fulfill our function here," said Tanzcos.
For more information, please contact New Zealand NORML at (011) 64-9-302-5255 or email:
hempstor@ihug.co.nz.
Marijuananews.com hemp pages Contributing Editor: John E. Dvorak,
Hempologist and webmaster of www.hempology.org
John researches and writes about the past, present and future uses of cannabis hemp. He is the founder and proprietor of the Boston Hemp Co-op, Museum and Library. John was the Managing Editor of Hemp Magazine and has had articles published in Hempworld Magazine, the Journal of the International Hemp Association and Cannabis Canada (now Cannabis Culture). He is a member of the Hemp Industries Association, the International Hemp Association, and Mass Cann/NORML. He can be reached at boston.hemp@pobox.com and 781-662-4313, or through www.hempology.org.