Norfolk Island. Schoenmakers, who set up one of the world's largest cannabis seed distribution businesses from Holland and used it as a base to send seeds to American customers through the post, has joined Australian medicinal cannabis company AusCann, headed by former Liberal MP Mal Washer and businessmen Troy Langman and Harry Karelis. Following failed attempts to establish cannabis growing operations in Tasmania and Norfolk Island, AusCann (formerly known as Tasman Health Cannabinoids, or TasCann) is positioning itself to become a licensed provider of cannabis products to Australian and overseas markets, including Canada, as soon as the laws allow it to operate, with Schoenmakers their secret weapon. With a potential domestic market estimated at $1 billion a year (and a global market 100 times that size), AusCann is just one of several companies eyeing the opportunities in Australia and positioning themselves for a possible change to the local cannabis laws. "The demand is huge, no one company can service it all," says AusCann founder and ceo Troy Langman.

"We have people in Canada right now. Canada says they will buy everything we can produce." Schoenmakers, who was one of the major targets of the Bush administration's largely unsuccessful attack on the underground marijuana trade in the late 1980s and early '90s known as Operation Green Merchant, was arrested in Perth in July 1990 to face extradition to the US, where he was to face 44 charges including illegally growing and distributing cannabis. An affidavit from a man claiming to have acted as Schoenmakers' US distributor told the US District Court of Louisiana that on a trip to Holland he had seen a duffel bag full of envelopes containing hundreds of dollars in cash and orders for marijuana seeds. "Schoenmakers would cause the seeds to be shipped to me in bulk, wrapped in packets and labelled according to to the quantity and type of seeds involved, which packets were shipped in sealed soup cans that were packaged in a box full with food items. The soup cans contained lead inserts … and would weigh what the label on the soup can said the can should weigh," Raymond Anthony Cogo told the court. After agreeing to the US Justice Department's extradition request, West Australian police arrested Schoenmakers in July 1990. After 11 months detained in WA's Canning Vale Prison while appealing his extradition, Schoenmakers was granted bail of $100,000 and disappeared.

The August 2, 1991, edition of the West Australian newspaper reported that he had failed to report to Midland police station in Perth, and his mother and de facto wife had not heard from him, predicting he had left the country. But Fairfax Media can reveal that Schoenmakers has not only returned to Australia, but is preparing to take up his former trade, breeding high quality cannabis, targeted at the medicinal market. Despite trumpeting its success in apprehending him, the US Justice Department never succeeded in arresting Schoenmakers and eventually dropped its pursuit of him. Neither the West Australian Police who originally arrested him, the Australian Federal Police nor Interpol have any active warrants for his arrest and Schoenmakers is adamant he has not broken Australian laws. A spokesman for the Australian Attorney-General's department said extradition proceedings could be dropped if withdrawn by the foreign country. While little has been heard from the secretive breeder since his disappearance in 1991, whispers of his return began to circulate in online cannabis forums in 2013 when his name appeared in a submission to a NSW parliamentary inquiry. The submission by Schoenmakers' Canberra-based friend and fellow cannabis breeder Mark Heinrich included a statement by Schoenmakers addressing the chemical complexity of the plant and the difficulties of dealing with international narcotics treaties in establishing a legal cannabis operation in Australia.

His return to the local scene was recently confirmed when AusCann listed him as a plant breeder on its management team, citing his more than 30 years of experience and his ability to breed strains with specific cannabinoid profiles to match the medicinal needs of different patients. Few people know of Schoenmakers' whereabouts. Even fewer have access to him. When contacted by Fairfax Media he was not happy that a journalist had his number. He did not want to be quoted, but was prepared to confirm basic details. After fleeing Australia in 1991, Schoenmakers returned to Holland where he continued his work cultivating and breeding cannabis. In 2004 he returned to Australia to care for a sick family member. He has kept a low profile for fear that he and his family will continue to be persecuted for his past. US authorities continued to pursue Schoenmakers after he left Australia, but the Netherlands, where cannabis seeds and products are openly sold in cafes, refused to hand him over for activities not considered illegal. Eventually losing interest, the charges were quietly dropped.

Senior cultivation editor at High Times magazine Danny Danko said Schoenmakers' return to growing would be a significant development. "He is a celebrity but also an enigma. Only a few photos of him exist and he's spoken of in reverend tones as almost a mythical figure. The government knew that if they didn't use Nevil as an example, then the seed companies would continue to grow and thrive." Danko, whose US-based magazine was also targeted by Operation Green Merchant, said breeders would be watching with interest to see what sorts of phenotypes Schoenmakers planned to use. According to AusCann's Troy Langman, Schoenmakers has been unfairly targeted for much of his adult life for conducting work in Holland that was perfectly legal. He had an important role to play in helping gravely ill patients seek relief through developing reliable, specifically engineered strains of cannabis medication. "Nevil's not a criminal, he's a good guy and he genuinely wants to help and we are extremely fortunate to have him.

"Every business needs a Nevil,someone who knows cannabis and its properties and can breed varieties for specific properties. When people hear that we've got him, they kind of go, 'Wow, you've really got Nevil?'" Having received a flood of correspondence from desperate Australians and their families forced to turn to the black market to access cannabis treatments, he believes Australia is on the cusp of making a significant change to laws that will bring relief to thousands who could benefit from cannabis-based medication. While welcomed by local Norfolk authorities keen to see the industry established on the financially stricken island, in 2014 federal government administrator of Norfolk Gary Hardgrave cancelled the licence issued to the company to operate, despite Prime Minister Tony Abbott's support of medicinal cannabis with appropriate safeguards. Undeterred, the company has secured a block of land on the island they hope to use for growing cannabis crops and have applied to the Island's Commonwealth administrators for permission to start growing. "We've effectively had permits twice now [in Tasmania and Norfolk Island], we're confident we can make this happen," says Langman.

"There is a deeper issue here, and that's the sheer number of people relying on people like Nevil. He just wants to serve and be of help to all those who need his expertise."







