Cultivation of Medicinal Cannabis vs Hemp

Medicinal Cannabis and Hemp: two different licences, same starting material. What’s the difference? At first glance, it seems a little redundant to have two licences to process the same thing but dig a little deeper and important distinctions emerge.

1. Differences between cultivating Medicinal Cannabis vs Hemp

Essentially, the main differences between Medicinal Cannabis vs Hemp cultivation relate to the permissions and scope of the licenced activities, i.e. what you are actually allowed to do.

With the hemp licence, you can produce fibre and hemp seeds while with the medicinal cannabis licence(s) you can produce the flowers and extract the cannabinoids.

The requirements for the starting materials are also much stricter in hemp, favouring only low THC strains (<1%). The chemical content of the hemp crops is also verified through regulatory crop sampling and testing to ensure that the strains are compliant.

Note that cultivation for purposes other than those explicitly outlined in each licence is a criminal offence: you can’t use a hemp licence to generate medicinal cannabis products and you can’t use a medicinal cannabis licence to generate hemp products.

To help you navigate between the two, a summary of the differences is detailed in the table below:

2. The Overlap between Medicinal Cannabis vs Hemp

You would think given the strictness of the regulations governing medical cannabis production, there would be huge barriers up between the hemp and medicinal cannabis industries, however a convenient little loophole has emerged: depending on the state and the specific permissions of the individual hemp licences, it is possible for hemp growers to supply low THC seeds to medicinal cannabis cultivators.

Of course, this is also dependant on the desired strain. If the “target” compound is CBD (or any of the other hundred cannabinoids present in cannabis that aren’t THC), then sourcing low-THC seeds from local hemp cultivators is a very logical option and would greatly alleviate the additional time, cost and stress involved with importing seeds from overseas.

The hemp licence permissions (i.e. the ability to supply) for each state are summarised in the table below:

Note: Processing licences have been left out, as they give permission to manufacture the initial hemp products (i.e. fibre and seed) for other industrial purposes and are beyond the scope of this blog.

3. The Fine Details

If obtaining low THC seeds from Australian industrial hemp growers, bear in mind that the ODC will check the original hemp cultivator’s licence to ensure that they are also approved for supply – make sure you check this in advance before it’s highlighted in a 14J! If the hemp cultivator does not have the appropriate permissions, then, unfortunately, it’s a no go.

Before you set up a supply chain with your approved vendor, you may also want to ensure you obtain:
• a crop analysis certificate for the seed/strain of interest to clarify its chemical composition, and
• a recent germination test (within 6 months).

The viability of hemp seeds can decrease rapidly so, to avoid a dud crop, it’s good to check how long you can store a seed after purchase.

Want more?

If you would like to read more about medicinal cannabis, the following blogs may also interest you:

• Cannabis seed to sale software – the caveats and CFR Part 11 clashes
• TGA GMP Manufacturing licence for medicinal cannabis
• Concept design for Medicinal Cannabis Facility – Case study
• What to look for in a GMP cannabis consultant