This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Australian hemp growers and sellers are fighting a federal government decision to reverse a long-standing exemption allowing them to supply industrial hemp for pet food and cosmetics.

In May last year, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) decided to end an exemption that the industrial hemp sector had used to supply hemp for cosmetic products and pet food products.

Hemp had previously been allowed for use in external products, those not for human consumption, so long as the tetrahydrocannabinols (THC) content was 50 milligrams per kilogram or less.

Biofuels: could agave, hemp and saltbush be the fuels of the future? Read more

The federal government argued that the exemption conflicted with narcotics laws and the United Nations’s single convention on narcotics drugs. The decision also placed tighter restrictions on hemp oil products, which the industry fears will require it to test levels for more than 100 types of cannabinoids.

Fearing a significant impact on their businesses, a number of growers and industrial hemp associations launched a federal court case against the federal health department.

The case, heard on Monday in Sydney, was launched by the Australian Industrial Hemp Alliance, Eve Hemp Oil, OzHemp and others.

Barrister Jeremy Kirk SC said the loss of the exemption effectively extended political concerns about illegal drugs into the operation of the TGA’s legislation, which ought to be primarily focused on public health and safety.

“The TGA act is not a federal drugs act, it’s about public health and safety,” Kirk said.

The federal court is expected to hand down its judgment on Friday.

The industry was boosted significantly by a decision earlier this year to allow hemp to be used in food products. The decision allowed low THC concentration food products to be consumed legally.

But Australian Industrial Hemp Allowance vice president, James Vosper, said the introduction of other “restrictive” and narrow regulations was deterring investment in the sector.

Vosper said the cultivation of industrial hemp would help spur investment in regional Australia.

“Really, what we want is, we want of thousands of hectares under cultivation for industrial hemp, and we want to see jobs for areas that are depressed, and areas with high Indigenous populations,” he said.

He said Australia was in a unique position to supply industrial hemp to Asia. But he said the industry was still dealing with a stigma associated with the recreational use of illicit drugs.

“We have an enormous opportunity for hemp and that goes for hemp seed, fibre … It’s potential is huge and especially in areas which are, quite frankly, economically depressed,” he said.

“That’s why we make ourselves distinct from that. We’re not activists, we’re not about the recreational use of marijuana, we’re about hemp for all the good things it can do.

“It should be distinct. Unfortunately it looks the same, it smells the same and we’ve had to deal with the same stigma throughout the years.”



The health department declined to comment while the federal court proceedings were ongoing.