We back MAC !

Did you know we have had a licensed legal Hemp industry in NZ since 2006? Licence holders are authorised by law to grow process and trade in Industrial Hemp, and products derived in part or in whole from the Industrial Hemp plant. This includes health and medical products.

Donald McIntosh who started this industry has told the Ministry of Health he would happily supply sick people products from his Hemp cultivars for free?

So why are the MOH not supporting him and industry? Instead they are changing the rules on him, so he can’t?

Donald “Mad Mac” McIntosh is a true kiwi visionary, who revolutionised the Paua industry for the Paua divers in his early days. He united the Paua divers around NZ bringing them together as a collective and demanding the higher prices for their catch like the Australians were getting.

The boost to our economy and the financial rewards for Paua divers was immense.

Always looking out for the generations that follow and the future of the industry. Mac back then, advocated for a number of things to happen in the industry which he is happy to see in place today, including the quota system to be applied to Paua.

Mac was also known to use his own money to re seed the Paua beds for future generations. Always focused on leaving something behind because it was the right thing to do.

Leaving the Paua industry behind in the 90’s he told everyone he was going to grow industrial Hemp in NZ, to which the reply was you’re “MAD MAC” Industrial Hemp is Cannabis and there’s a moratorium on Cannabis you can’t even talk about it.

As Mad as he may have sounded Mac had worked with the government departments like MAF and knew the territory so to speak, he uplifted his family and headed to wellington.

Using money he made from the Paua industry, Mac travelled the world to learn about this ancient plant Hemp that had been an essential part of human survival before 1937 and exploration since before written history.

Mac proved to our last Labour lead government that Industrial hemp cultivars of cannabis pose no danger of being used as a drug and in fact has a number of benefits for our health, environment, and wealth of our nation.

“MAC STARTED THE HEMP INDUSTRY IN NZ”

He started this journey in the 90’s. 28 years he has waited for this day to come around and in the last hour they want to undo his work and change the game on him to suit the few, not all of us.

These proposed changes by the Ministry of health officials change the Hemp Acts original “Object” which is to enable industry, and its “Interpretations” which legally define what a product is to industry.

The regulations between government and license holders otherwise known as its “Object “, is fulfilled in spirit, to ensure all people of New Zealand no matter of race, or bank balance are able to access the health benefits of this industry and the country embraces the industry he has been his life’s work.

Mac made a lot of money and eventually moved away from Paua to focus on Industrial Hemp. If you don’t know what Hemp is, it is a strain of Cannabis Sativa with a THC content under 0.5%. Used before written history by humans for survival, it has no drug content and you would have to smoke a power pole to get High.

Its biggest danger it seems is to big pharma, as it is actually good for you when eaten. The seeds are the most digestible food source available.

In 1990 Mac used his own money and moved his family to Wellington to lobby the NZ government to firstly remove the moratorium on Cannabis and secondly to allow the growing of industrial Hemp in NZ.

A true pioneer he went about stating his case removing the moratorium, and proving Hemp had no potential to be used as a drug crop and posed no danger to public safety. Proving Hemp had potential in NZ as an arable crop for food fibre and nutraceuticals. Mac was allowed to run trials in 2000 and then was granted the first licence in NZ to grow Hemp.

In 2001 he presented to the health select committee on the uses of hemp for health and wellbeing. Also, cannabis for therapeutic and medicinal uses after losing his wife to cancer.

In 2006 he was part of the Labour lead government working group which drafted the current 2006 Hemp regulations to which all licenses are issued today. These regulations allow licence holders to grow process and trade in industrial Hemp and Hemp products. These are any products derived in part or in whole from the industrial hemp plant, this includes teas, foods and health supplements. Also, Cannabidiol or CBD which is not a drug and can be used in medical preparations too.

The Ministry of health since 2009 have been telling licence holders in the Hemp industry that this is not the case and basically MAC is lying and that this was never the intention of these regulations.

So, what’s happened? Unfortunately, only 2.5 years after Helen Clark’s Labour lead government put these regulations in place to enable this industry and its growth, like Canada. A National lead government was introduced in 2009 and a 9-year battled began trying to get them to enable the industry as the legislation allows. Hemp can only improve the health, wealth and environment for all kiwis.

In 2018 we have a newly lead Labour government, Industry was excited and thought we would have any roadblocks removed and the industry would be enabled as intended.

However, we didn’t have any changes of roles at medicines control and it is industry’s belief,that they are set on maintaining their stance and disabling the full potential of this industry at a time in history when our county needs it the most.

Our farmers can use this crop rotation to benefit Animal health and provide alternative income, to enable dairy farmers to not be reliant on having to have such high and intensive stocking regimes, as well as to help Farmers balance environmental goals and maintain good health outcomes.

Ministry of Health (MOH) are trying to propose changes to the original 2006 regulations, which sees it limited to only hemp seed products and fibre.

Mac needs our collective help as a country to challenge the Ministry of Health and its’ officials over their proposed changes to the current MoDA Industrial Hemp Regulations 2006.

Ministry officials are of the opinion hemp is a drug like marijuana cannabis and needs further restriction to only Hemp seed products, and current regulations are not fit for purpose and need changing. Once again lumping harmless low thc hemp with zero risk of abuse or public harm with marijuana Cannabis when the UN single convention narcotics and drugs clearly defines Hemp and Cannabis to be different exempting Hemp.

We have a target of 45k to get this done yet with legal sponsorship or donation of some time this may come in a little under the $45k