A New Zealand man is defending charges of cultivating 348 cannabis plants on the grounds that he does not recognise the law and the only law is God's law.

Shane Taoho, 44, told a jury he's a sovereign being and that the Bible's book of Genesis says a person can grow seeds and plants.

Representing himself, Taoho told the court in Rotorua that New Zealand jurisdiction has been forced on him by intimidation and violence.

AAP