The Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association says there is no doubt medicinal cannabis could be grown securely in Tasmania given the success the island’s farmers have had growing opium poppies within a tight security regime.
However, farmers remain wary about the prospects, given the stonewalling and a “red curtain” of regulations they have faced from governments over growing industrial hemp for food products.
“That remains our first aim, to establish a broad-based industrial hemp industry,” TFGA policy manager Peter Skillern said today.
“Let’s get the runs on the board with producing industrial hemp within similar parameters to poppies, we have a lot of land already under trial crops for fibre production and it is now time to expand this to food production, then we can negotiate the possibility of growing medicinal cannabis.”
Mr Skillern said the TFGA appreciated the point made by the Legislative Council that, for many people, the medicinal use of cannabis can be therapeutic, but “until we can get to first base on industrial hemp, growing medicinal cannabis appears premature”.
“There is a history here of over-regulation and delay for new projects like this,” he said. “That makes farmers wary about committing acreage and investment to it.”
TFGA policy manager Peter Skillern
