New Zealand Company Approved for THC-Rich Cannabis Imports

Hikurangi Cannabis Company in New Zealand has had its cannabis license adjusted to allow the company to import high-THC cannabis cultivars, according to a Stuff.co.nz report.

The company’s license is the first one to be updated in this way. The New Zealand government previously allowed just low-THC cannabis plants to be used in its medical cannabis program, which was changed last month. Hukurangi was the first cannabis company to finish an application for changing its license.

Hikurangi will be cultivating 16 new strains of cannabis. Five varieties will be THC-rich, four will be CBD-rich with low THC, and the other seven will be similar to the formerly approved low-THC strains.

Hikurangi’s Managing Director Manu Caddie said that the importation of these high-THC medical cannabis varietals has nothing to do with the upcoming 2020 referendum to legalize adult-use cannabis. Caddie said the THC-rich strains will be used to help people in need of pain management, whereas the CBD-heavy strains will be used to help people with seizure disorders like epilepsy.

Caddie said his next project is developing relations with burgeoning cannabis industries in Asia — like Thailand, which recently legalized medical cannabis — in hopes of trading for new seeds and medicines.

“Last week we saw the government in Thailand approve medical cannabis, the Philippines, Malaysia, and South Korea are all shifting quickly and others are following,” he said.