The Hempstore Aotearoa today filed papers in Manukau District Court against the New Zealand Customs Service which is refusing to release a shipment of imported hemp products.
The Hempstore said it had received Customs clearance for previous shipments of identical products.
The shipment included hemp tea and "Knaster" hemp smoking blend imported
from Germany.
"We are challenging the Customs Service's inconsistent and over-zealous application of the rules. We have been totally upfront that we have been importing hemp products and have proof that the THC (the active ingredient in cannabis) level is minute," spokesman Chris Fowlie said.
The hemp tea was tested in Germany as being 0.0047 per cent, well below the usual 0.35 per cent level for hemp, he said, "so even a tonne of the stuff would not have any effect".
Mr Fowlie said Customs officers had told him that ESR had identified the teas and smoking blend only as containing cannabis.
"The fact is, all hemp is made from cannabis but it's not the kind that will get anyone high."
If Customs applied the same test to other hemp products, they would all be declared illegal as all hemp contained some tiny trace amount of THC, he said.
"The action taken by Customs potentially jeopardises the entire New Zealand hemp industry."
For this reason, Mr Fowlie said the organisation had decided to test the "arbitrary and inconsistent decision" in court.
Customs today confirmed that a quantity of cannabis had been seized, and that the other party involved had exercised its right to challenge the seizure.
Spokeswoman Lisa-Marie Richan said Customs was unable to comment further as the matter was now before the courts.
Green MP Nandor Tanczos said he was writing to Parliament's primary production committee urging it to progress his Misuse of Drugs (Industrial Hemp) Amendment Bill.
He said the bill would establish in legislation a THC content threshold.
"Until the law is changed there is confusion about whether the laws governing marijuana apply to hemp, which is not psychoactive," he said.
"Potentially, an importer of hemp jeans could be prosecuted for importation of a Class C controlled substance."
Mr Tanczos promotes the use of hemp cloth, and said the Customs Department was in a difficult position because it did not have clear guidelines on how to treat consignments of hemp products.
His member's bill was referred to the committee in May 2001 but has not made any progress.
- NZPA
