You now have permission to grow marijuana in NSW – if you are the state government.

NSW is the first state to have been given approval to grow cannabis under licence from the federal government as part of research into the best way to cultivate the plant.

British Columbia facility Broken Coast Cannabis, where legal medical-grade marijuana is grown hydroponically. Credit:Broken Coast Cannabis

That step will lay the foundations for private growers to supply medical marijuana, the state government said.

"This underpins the potential pharmaceutical supply of cannabis-based medicines made in Australia," said the NSW Primary Industries Minister, Niall Blair. "We are the first state to be authorised by the Commonwealth to conduct cultivation research."