Agriculture minister Tara Moriarty flags opportunity for hemp farmers ahead of formation of agriculture taskforce to drive growth.
The New South Wales agriculture minister has opened the door to increasing the production of medicinal cannabis and reforming the state’s drug laws as the government prepares for a major expansion of the hemp industry.
The minister Tara Moriarty said she saw a boom on the horizon for hemp farmers as she prepared to announce a new taskforce to drive growth in the sector to produce food, fibre and construction materials.
Hemp is the same plant as cannabis or marijuana but it contains a much lower quantity of THC, a psychoactive component found in some strains of the crop which gives people who ingest it a “high” and can be used legally with a prescription.