Industrial Hemp Regulation, Environmental Oversight, Interagency Coordination, and Related Funding (2020–2025)
SPENCER JONES made this Official Information request to Ministry of Health
Currently waiting for a response from Ministry of Health, they must respond promptly and normally no later than (details and exceptions).
From: SPENCER JONES
Dear Ministry of Health,
Pursuant to the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA), I request the following information concerning industrial hemp (iHemp) from 1 January 2020 to 2 September 2025. Where information is better held by another agency, please transfer under section 14 and advise me. I remain open to refining scope under section 13 if required.
Roles and Responsibilities
All documents (briefings, memos, guidelines, cabinet papers) describing MoH’s role in iHemp licensing, THC testing, compliance, or environmental impact (e.g., sustainability, emissions reduction).
Interagency Communications
All communications (emails, reports, minutes, MOUs) with MPI, MBIE, MfE referring to overlapping functions, duplication, or coordination regarding iHemp.
Policy/Efficiency Reviews
Any evaluations, reviews, or policy papers identifying duplication, inefficiencies, or environmental oversight gaps in hemp regulation.
Funding/Programs
Details of MoH-administered or co-funded research, pilots, or initiatives on iHemp (including carbon/climate projects).
For transparency under s18(e), please provide:
teams/units searched,
databases or systems searched,
keywords used (e.g. “hemp,” “iHemp,” “carbon sequestration”),
interagency consultation outcomes.
This request is clearly in the public interest given iHemp’s climate mitigation and bioeconomy potential.
Yours faithfully,
Spencer Jones
From: OIA Requests
Kia ora Spencer,
Thank you for your request under the Official Information Act 1982 (the
Act), received by the Ministry of Health on 2 September 2025. You
requested:
I request the following information concerning industrial hemp (iHemp)
from 1 January 2020 to 2 September 2025. Where information is better held
by another agency, please transfer under section 14 and advise me. I
remain open to refining scope under section 13 if required.
Roles and Responsibilities
All documents (briefings, memos, guidelines, cabinet papers) describing
MoH’s role in iHemp licensing, THC testing, compliance, or environmental
impact (e.g., sustainability, emissions reduction).
Interagency Communications
All communications (emails, reports, minutes, MOUs) with MPI, MBIE, MfE
referring to overlapping functions, duplication, or coordination regarding
iHemp.
Policy/Efficiency Reviews
Any evaluations, reviews, or policy papers identifying duplication,
inefficiencies, or environmental oversight gaps in hemp regulation.
Funding/Programs
Details of MoH-administered or co-funded research, pilots, or initiatives
on iHemp (including carbon/climate projects).
For transparency under s18(e), please provide:
teams/units searched,
databases or systems searched,
keywords used (e.g. “hemp,” “iHemp,” “carbon sequestration”),
interagency consultation outcomes.
The reference number for your request is H2025072130. As required under
the Act, the Ministry will endeavour to respond to your request no later
than 20 working days after the day your request was
received: [1]http://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/
If you have any queries related to this request, please do not hesitate to
get in touch ([2][email address]).
Ngâ mihi
OIA Services Team
[3]Ministry of Health information releases
show quoted sections
References
Visible links
1. http://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/
2. mailto:[email address]
3. https://www.health.govt.nz/about-ministr...
Things to do with this request
- Add an annotation (to help the requester or others)
- Download a zip file of all correspondence (note: this contains the same information already available above).
Offensive? Unsuitable?
Requests for personal information and vexatious requests are not considered valid requests for Official Information (read more).
If you believe this request is not suitable, you can report it for attention by the site administrators
Report this requestAct on what you've learnt
Similar requests
Industrial Hemp Testing, Environmental Assessments, and Interagency Advice (2020–2025)
To Institute of Environmental Science and Research Limited by SPENCER JONES
Industrial Hemp Innovation, Bioeconomy, and Interagency Oversight (2020–2025)
To Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment by SPENCER JONES
Official Information Request – MBIE’s Role and Oversight in Industrial Hemp and Regulatory Overlap
To Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment by SPENCER JONES
SPENCER JONES left an annotation ()
📌 FYI.org.nz Annotation – Industrial Hemp OIA Package (2020–2025)
This set of requests follows earlier OIAs (#31349 and related responses OIAD-1653 and OIAD-1707) where both MPI and MfE issued blanket refusals under section 18(e), claiming no records exist. The Ministry for the Environment later acknowledged limited consultation with MPI and MoH, but still asserted no information was held.
Given the contradictions between these refusals and publicly available information — including evidence of funding (e.g., MPI’s SFFF grants, Callaghan Innovation projects), regulatory review activity (2025 Minister Seymour review), and interagency roles already acknowledged in legislation — I am submitting a coordinated package of requests to MoH, MPI, MBIE, and ESR/PHF Science.
The purpose is to:
1. **Clarify interagency roles and responsibilities** (MoH, MPI, MBIE, MfE, ESR);
2. **Test for duplication or inefficiency** in licensing, food regulation, environmental oversight, and bioeconomy policy;
3. **Confirm existence of government funding and pilot projects** that have already been publicly reported;
4. **Ensure transparency in search efforts**, including which units/databases were checked, and whether transfers under s14 were considered.
This approach is designed to establish a clear, cross-agency record before pursuing any further escalation. It is in the public interest given hemp’s role in climate mitigation, sustainable agriculture, and New Zealand’s emerging bioeconomy.
Link to this