Australia's Norfolk Island to export high-grade medicinal cannabis to Canada

[hard rain]

Australia's Norfolk Island to export high-grade medicinal cannabis to Canada
Australian firm AusCann strikes landmark deal with island’s government, with expectations cannabis will become a multimillion dollar export industry by 2016

Norfolk Island has been deemed an ideal place to grow cannabis due to its climate and geographical security.

An Australian company is about to start growing and exporting medicinal cannabis from the self-governing Australian territory of Norfolk Island.

AusCann Group Holdings has struck a landmark deal with the Norfolk Island government to grow a high-grade medicinal strain of cannabis from November. It intends to export its entire first crop to Canada by the middle of next year.

An initial one tonne of cannabis will be grown from a protected two-hectare site with production forecast to increase to 10 tonnes by 2018.

It will supply the sativa and sativa-dominant strains, which are unsuitable for growing in Canada’s indoor facilities.

“This Australian-first project has the full support of the Norfolk Island community and is expected to generate much-needed revenues via an export fee and employment,” the managing director of AusCann, Elaine Darby, said on Wednesday.

The deal comes barely a week after the Australian government passed legislation, which had bipartisan support, to abolish Norfolk’s Island parliament and replace it with a local council.

It means as of the end of June, Norfolk Island will no longer be a self-governing territory, it’s government will be abolished, and islanders will be brought under Australia’s taxation and welfare system during a transition period of about one year.

Norfolk Island was deemed an ideal venue for cannabis production because of its climate and geographical security.

An international security firm, Lockforce International, has been engaged to ensure the site remains secure.

At least eight full-time jobs will be created initially, with more likely during the harvest and processing periods.

“This is a win for our company, for the Norfolk Island community and further creates a new Australian export industry with substantial growth potential,” Darby said.

“We can feasibly expect this will become a multimillion dollar export industry by 2016.”

Norfolk Island’s health minister, Robin Adams, said it was a valuable economic opportunity for the territory.

“We are working with AusCann to ensure strict growing and security requirements are in place,” the minister said.
http://www.theguardian.com/society/...xport-high-grade-medicinal-cannabis-to-canada

 

[noyd666]

funny fuk'n world

 

[Bradley_Danks]

Quite the logistical challenge.

 

[KITCHA]

A tonne of Nevilles Haze and Mullum hybrids heading to Canada!

"AUSCANN Group Holdings has struck a landmark deal with the self-governing offshore territory to grow a high-grade medicinal strain of cannabis from November.
It intends to export its entire first crop to Canada by the middle of next year and ramp up production from an initial one tonne to 10 tonnes by 2018"

 

[Mustafunk]

Well I bet they have the right climate to grow sativas there! lol.

It seems that a lot of companies are trying to get a pice of the upcoming canna-cake.

I just hope this could lead to a subtle changes in the global laws and views on cannabis.

Vibes.

 

[meadowman]

Greed at it's finest!

 

[wegobigupnorth]

Is there not medical cannabis in Auz? why the hell are the even talking about exporting shouldn't they focus on the HUGE local market first? I highly doubt even in a totally legal market it would be profitable to export cannabis from Auz to Canada.

Two good friends of mine just got back from Auz and their prices are at least 3 times higher then on the east coast of Canada, never mind the west coast. The weed is worth A LOT more in Auz and considering the med scene would probably explode there, it would be a long time before any of the producers would have so much bud on hand that they would be looking to export it..

It kinda feels like other countires are assuming Canada's med program is like Cali's where everyone and their mom has a card and if they don't its a simple 10 minute "doctor" visit to pay a small amount and get a script. If we had recreational here then I could see an idea like this flourishing...

I personally would pay a premium for a nice imported auzzie sativa but 99% of *patients* I know would NOT. Sativa's have pretty much no medical value. They do not even touch pain or nausea. most of the older heads I know hate the racy feeling they get and with good quality meds costing as much as they do here, very few of the people the actually purchase from a licensed producer will purchase something like this. Most can hardly afford their meds under this program as it is..

Again, there is of course a market. But I really do not think it is as huge as these guys predict. I personally think by next year were gonna have to much product growm domestically to get rid of, we'll see if any LP's are even interested in importing.

Does anyone in Canada have any articles about any LP's actaully being granted PERMISSION to import/export internationally? I remember two years ago reading that by now I would have access to tons of imports...The only access I have is to totally illegal imports a compassion club gets in once in a blue moon.

 

[blastfrompast]

I have a feeling they might have some issues with Canadian standards for mold, contaminants etc.

 

[Lester Beans]

Yet Kang is locked up. Fuckers. Free Kang and let him run the op, if hi grade is the goal of course.

 

[Skip]

So once Australia takes over the gov't of the island, it means Australia itself will be growing and exporting cannabis, despite such harsh laws elsewhere in the country against it.

 

[GreeeeN GRassss]

is there not enough water problems over there already ?

 

[Gry]

Can imagine how it was sold to the islanders.

 

[hard rain]

I found the company's website,Auscann, and it seems Nevil is involved!
http://www.auscann.com.au/management.html

As a few have pointed out there is no legal medical cannabis in Australia, although a lot of talk. Not sure how this would work legally.

@wegobigupnorth, can't agree with you that there are no medical value in sativas? Maybe you've smoked the wrong ones.

 

[Limeygreen]

The only good thing about this is that sun grown sativas properly matured can be obtained. The bad thing is why the fuck are we going to import when people are having licensees rejected? It's great for patients and all and good for them being able to have a choice, it better be closer to the 2 dollar a gramme mark than the 8 and up currently, but let Canadians grow it and inject money to our economy with local producers rather than this shite.

 

[MelloYello]

And just forget about everyone in jails/prisons for growing/possessing/selling?

All currently incarcerated for cannabis should be released and any profit made by the government should be paid as reparations to anyone who has ever been held for cannabis.

 

[Rumblefish]

This is a fucken joke ! these arsehole are going to try and get rich out of this and meanwhile there is fuckin nothing for those in need in mainland Australia ..people are routinely being subjected to raids by the so called law, having their lives destroyed and family's being torn apart for nothing more than growing a medicinal plant under a couple of lights ,then their being vilified in the courts as if they are trying to grow hundreds and thousands of dollars of cannabis in some sort of get rich quik scheme when in fact all they are doing is trying to be self sufficient and maybe pay a few bills..these fuckers are wiping their boots on the back of everybody that is in jail doing time ...makes me want to cry Rf

 

[vostok]

King of cannabis Nevil Schoenmakers stages a quiet comeback (February 21, 2015)

In the hazy halls of marijuana folklore, one name reigns supreme: Nevil Schoenmakers.
The reclusive Australian/Dutch dual national's work breeding and improving the genetics of plants made him a legend among cannabis users in the 1980s, as his potent and hardy varieties become the basis for most of the strains widely used around the world today.
But after fleeing United States government attempts to extradite him from Australia to face a raft of drug-related charges, Schoenmakers vanished - until now.

As the Federal Parliament considers a Bill to regulate the medicinal use of cannabis and states and territories including the ACT and NSW explore ways of allowing gravely ill patients access to the drug legally, the man known as the King of Cannabis is staging a quiet comeback, more than two decades after his dramatic escape from authorities.

Schoenmakers, who set up one of the world's largest cannabis seed distribution businesses from Holland and used it as a base to send seeds to American customers through the post, has joined Australian medicinal cannabis company AusCann, headed by former Liberal MP Mal Washer and businessmen Troy Langman and Harry Karelis.

Following failed attempts to establish cannabis growing operations in Tasmania and Norfolk Island, AusCann (formerly known as Tasman Health Cannabinoids, or TasCann) is positioning itself to become a licensed provider of cannabis products to Australian and overseas markets, including Canada, as soon as the laws allow it to operate, with Schoenmakers their secret weapon.

A 1987 brochure for Nevil Schoenmaker's company The Seed Bank, which went on to become one of the largest cannabis seed distribution businesses in the world. Photo: Supplied

With a potential domestic market estimated at $1 billion a year (and a global market 100 times that size), AusCann is just one of several companies eyeing the opportunities in Australia and positioning themselves for a possible change to the local cannabis laws.

"The demand is huge, no one company can service it all," says AusCann founder and ceo Troy Langman.

"We have people in Canada right now. Canada says they will buy everything we can produce."
Schoenmakers, who was one of the major targets of the Bush administration's largely unsuccessful attack on the underground marijuana trade in the late 1980s and early '90s known as Operation Green Merchant, was arrested in Perth in July 1990 to face extradition to the US, where he was to face 44 charges including illegally growing and distributing cannabis.

An affidavit from a man claiming to have acted as Schoenmakers' US distributor told the US District Court of Louisiana that on a trip to Holland he had seen a duffel bag full of envelopes containing hundreds of dollars in cash and orders for marijuana seeds.

"Schoenmakers would cause the seeds to be shipped to me in bulk, wrapped in packets and labelled according to to the quantity and type of seeds involved, which packets were shipped in sealed soup cans that were packaged in a box full with food items. The soup cans contained lead inserts … and would weigh what the label on the soup can said the can should weigh," Raymond Anthony Cogo told the court.

After agreeing to the US Justice Department's extradition request, West Australian police arrested Schoenmakers in July 1990. After 11 months detained in WA's Canning Vale Prison while appealing his extradition, Schoenmakers was granted bail of $100,000 and disappeared.

The August 2, 1991, edition of the West Australian newspaper reported that he had failed to report to Midland police station in Perth, and his mother and de facto wife had not heard from him, predicting he had left the country.

But Fairfax Media can reveal that Schoenmakers has not only returned to Australia, but is preparing to take up his former trade, breeding high quality cannabis, targeted at the medicinal market.

Despite trumpeting its success in apprehending him, the US Justice Department never succeeded in arresting Schoenmakers and eventually dropped its pursuit of him. Neither the West Australian Police who originally arrested him, the Australian Federal Police nor Interpol have any active warrants for his arrest and Schoenmakers is adamant he has not broken Australian laws. A spokesman for the Australian Attorney-General's department said extradition proceedings could be dropped if withdrawn by the foreign country.

While little has been heard from the secretive breeder since his disappearance in 1991, whispers of his return began to circulate in online cannabis forums in 2013 when his name appeared in a submission to a NSW parliamentary inquiry.

The submission by Schoenmakers' Canberra-based friend and fellow cannabis breeder Mark Heinrich included a statement by Schoenmakers addressing the chemical complexity of the plant and the difficulties of dealing with international narcotics treaties in establishing a legal cannabis operation in Australia.

His return to the local scene was recently confirmed when AusCann listed him as a plant breeder on its management team, citing his more than 30 years of experience and his ability to breed strains with specific cannabinoid profiles to match the medicinal needs of different patients.

Few people know of Schoenmakers' whereabouts. Even fewer have access to him. When contacted by Fairfax Media he was not happy that a journalist had his number. He did not want to be quoted, but was prepared to confirm basic details.

After fleeing Australia in 1991, Schoenmakers returned to Holland where he continued his work cultivating and breeding cannabis. In 2004 he returned to Australia to care for a sick family member. He has kept a low profile for fear that he and his family will continue to be persecuted for his past.

US authorities continued to pursue Schoenmakers after he left Australia, but the Netherlands, where cannabis seeds and products are openly sold in cafes, refused to hand him over for activities not considered illegal.

Eventually losing interest, the charges were quietly dropped.

Senior cultivation editor at High Times magazine Danny Danko said Schoenmakers' return to growing would be a significant development.

"He is a celebrity but also an enigma. Only a few photos of him exist and he's spoken of in reverend tones as almost a mythical figure. The government knew that if they didn't use Nevil as an example, then the seed companies would continue to grow and thrive."

Danko, whose US-based magazine was also targeted by Operation Green Merchant, said breeders would be watching with interest to see what sorts of phenotypes Schoenmakers planned to use.

According to AusCann's Troy Langman, Schoenmakers has been unfairly targeted for much of his adult life for conducting work in Holland that was perfectly legal. He had an important role to play in helping gravely ill patients seek relief through developing reliable, specifically engineered strains of cannabis medication.

"Nevil's not a criminal, he's a good guy and he genuinely wants to help and we are extremely fortunate to have him.

"Every business needs a Nevil,someone who knows cannabis and its properties and can breed varieties for specific properties. When people hear that we've got him, they kind of go, 'Wow, you've really got Nevil?'"

Having received a flood of correspondence from desperate Australians and their families forced to turn to the black market to access cannabis treatments, he believes Australia is on the cusp of making a significant change to laws that will bring relief to thousands who could benefit from cannabis-based medication.

While welcomed by local Norfolk authorities keen to see the industry established on the financially stricken island, in 2014 federal government administrator of Norfolk Gary Hardgrave cancelled the licence issued to the company to operate, despite Prime Minister Tony Abbott's support of medicinal cannabis with appropriate safeguards.

Undeterred, the company has secured a block of land on the island they hope to use for growing cannabis crops and have applied to the Island's Commonwealth administrators for permission to start growing.

"We've effectively had permits twice now [in Tasmania and Norfolk Island], we're confident we can make this happen," says Langman.

"There is a deeper issue here, and that's the sheer number of people relying on people like Nevil. He just wants to serve and be of help to all those who need his expertise."

Credit to hard rain for the Guardian link this from the Sydney Morn. Herald
http://www.smh.com.au/national/king...-stages-a-quiet-comeback-20150220-13iazv.html

 

[wegobigupnorth]

I found the company's website,Auscann, and it seems Nevil is involved!
http://www.auscann.com.au/management.html

As a few have pointed out there is no legal medical cannabis in Australia, although a lot of talk. Not sure how this would work legally.

@wegobigupnorth, can't agree with you that there are no medical value in sativas? Maybe you've smoked the wrong ones.

I am a medical patient that smokes cannabis to help with pain, cyclic vomititing and insomnia. I have tried hundreds of different samples of sativa and any pure sativa is not felt "in the body" at all meaning it does nothing for pain. Some of them help nasea and vomiting a lite but nothing like the appetite inducing indices.

I supply lots of true paitents and they get very small amounts of sativa for mornings and can be great for "mental reasons" such as mood and getting some motivation to do something.

Other then mental effects, which actually can be very bad for a lot of older paitents I know (racy, restless and paranoid feelings are words I hear) please tell me which sativa are better for the reasons most cannabis is prescribed ?

 

[RetroGrow]

So there's TWO KINGS OF CANNABIS?
I wonder if Arjan knows?

 

[Sam_Skunkman]

This post I found is from one day before, does anyone think that the Australian Govt will really allow medical Cannabis to be exported worldwide when medical Cannabis is illegal in Australia? I suspect this is a pipe dream....
If the Australian Govt says no, that is it. They have repeatedly said no to anyones and all companies plans along these lines. Of course they do have Nevil, who regardless of what they say has not bred Cannabis for specific Cannabinoids besides THC, where is the work?
Only 1200 people on the Island, so to grow and process 10 tons they will need to hire most of the working population, if they are allowed grow in the first place, which I seriously doubt...
Funny how everyone wants to breed medical Cannabis, after 20 years I got tired of it and am happy to be back following my heart, recreational, or for Rastas religious use.
-SamS


http://www.news.com.au/national/bre...medical-cannabis/story-e6frfku9-1227361095596

Australia's Norfolk Island to export high-grade medicinal cannabis to Canada
Australian firm AusCann strikes landmark deal with island’s government, with expectations cannabis will become a multimillion dollar export industry by 2016

Norfolk Island has been deemed an ideal place to grow cannabis due to its climate and geographical security.

An Australian company is about to start growing and exporting medicinal cannabis from the self-governing Australian territory of Norfolk Island.

AusCann Group Holdings has struck a landmark deal with the Norfolk Island government to grow a high-grade medicinal strain of cannabis from November. It intends to export its entire first crop to Canada by the middle of next year.

An initial one tonne of cannabis will be grown from a protected two-hectare site with production forecast to increase to 10 tonnes by 2018.

It will supply the sativa and sativa-dominant strains, which are unsuitable for growing in Canada’s indoor facilities.

“This Australian-first project has the full support of the Norfolk Island community and is expected to generate much-needed revenues via an export fee and employment,” the managing director of AusCann, Elaine Darby, said on Wednesday.

The deal comes barely a week after the Australian government passed legislation, which had bipartisan support, to abolish Norfolk’s Island parliament and replace it with a local council.

It means as of the end of June, Norfolk Island will no longer be a self-governing territory, it’s government will be abolished, and islanders will be brought under Australia’s taxation and welfare system during a transition period of about one year.

Norfolk Island was deemed an ideal venue for cannabis production because of its climate and geographical security.

An international security firm, Lockforce International, has been engaged to ensure the site remains secure.

At least eight full-time jobs will be created initially, with more likely during the harvest and processing periods.

“This is a win for our company, for the Norfolk Island community and further creates a new Australian export industry with substantial growth potential,” Darby said.

“We can feasibly expect this will become a multimillion dollar export industry by 2016.”

Norfolk Island’s health minister, Robin Adams, said it was a valuable economic opportunity for the territory.

“We are working with AusCann to ensure strict growing and security requirements are in place,” the minister said.
http://www.theguardian.com/society/...xport-high-grade-medicinal-cannabis-to-canada