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A Marlborough medical cannabis company has been licensed to grow New Zealand’s largest crop.
Photo: Kesu / 123rf
Puro received the license on Thursday that allows it to commercially grow 90,000 plants for medical use from the Ministry of Health.
The crop will be germinated in tunnel houses before being transplanted to the company’s Kekerengu site.
But it will not have any recreational appeal as it will be used for the export of CBD and cannabinoids abroad.
“This is low-THC cannabis,” said Puro CEO Sank Macfarlane.
“We grow this for CBD and CBG and other cannabinoids, you could smoke them until the cows come home and nothing will happen to you. [psychoactively].
“It is essentially a hemp crop. It is insured and off the site of anyone who wants to go get it, but we do not anticipate that we will have any problems there.”
More important were the jobs the harvest would generate.
“The way we are doing it is very labor intensive, we will manually harvest most of the harvest, so we will see 50 to 60 workers during the harvest period,” Macfarlane said.
The company was delighted to get the go-ahead to grow in the commercial market.
“This license means that we can now sell medical cannabis to pharmaceutical buyers. This is the next step in our journey to become a global supplier of premium medical cannabis,” said Macfarlane.
Puro was working with New Zealand Trade and Enterprise to facilitate the country’s first bulk medical cannabis export.
A report by independent economists Agribusiness Group showed that Puro could create up to 375 full-time jobs in the next two years.
“Puro has the potential to make a huge difference to the Marlborough economy, creating jobs in both Kaikōura and Blenheim. We have received strong support from iwi, MPs, mayors and business leaders,” Macfarlane said.
While a referendum on recreational cannabis would be held next month, Macfarlane hadn’t thought about its implications one way or another.
“The business will neither succeed nor fail if the referendum is yes or no,” he said.
“What we are growing is premium medical cannabis.”
The company had more cash crop applications in the final stages of the review process, including for its recently completed indoor research facility in Marlborough’s Waihopai Valley.
