Green light for grower

NEW Zealand authorities have granted the country’s first medicinal cannabis growing licence to a commercial operation, in what growers hope may be the start of a new industry and a boon for rural areas.

Hikurangi Cannabis, based in the North Island town of Ruatoria, has been granted a licence to breed cannabis for medical research by the Ministry of Health. Previously only one university in the country had been given clearance.

The company’s interim chief, Manu Caddie, said commercialisation could bring a much-needed new industry.