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About pesticide use and medicinal cannabis
The Misuse of Drugs (Medicinal Cannabis) Regulations 2019 (the Regulations) set the minimum quality standard that medicinal cannabis products and ingredients must meet before they can be supplied in New Zealand. Under regulation 18 of the Regulations, cannabis crops must not be treated with a pesticide unless it meets one of the following criteria.
- The pesticide active ingredient is listed in the Regulations (and under Specified pesticide active ingredients below).
- Where the end use of the crop is not intended for administration via inhalation the following may be used.
- Agricultural chemicals listed in Schedule 2 of the Food Notice: Maximum Residue Levels for Agricultural Compounds (issued under section 405 of the Food Act 2014 for the purposes of section 383(8)(a) of that Act, and in accordance with the Food Regulations 2015) and used in accordance with conditions.
- Products that are registered under the Agricultural Compound and Veterinary Medicines Act 1997 with a label claim for use on a good crop and no registration condition prohibits the product being used off label.*
- If a cannabis-based ingredient or medicinal cannabis product is imported, pesticide active ingredients in products that are registered under the Agricultural Compound and Veterinary Medicines Act 1997 are permitted. Evidence that the product is authorised for use on food crops by the relevant overseas authority will be required.*
- Alternative pesticide active ingredients may be accepted if evidence is provided to demonstrate that the product has been registered by the relevant overseas authority for use on medicinal cannabis, the product has been used in accordance with use conditions and a suitable safety assessment has been completed by the relevant overseas authority.
*Residues of pesticide active ingredients will need to meet the calculated maximum limit as outlined in Chapter 2.8.13 of the European Pharmacopoeia.
Compliance with other legislation
Users, importers, and manufacturers of pesticide products in New Zealand must also be aware of their obligations under other pieces of legislation, as specified under Regulation 18 of the Regulations.
All hazardous substances and new organisms are required to have an approval under the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms (HSNO) Act. This includes substances that are imported into New Zealand and/or manufactured here, even if the manufactured substance is intended for export. The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) is responsible for approving hazardous substances and new organisms for use in New Zealand.
If you want to import, manufacture, sell or use an agricultural compound or veterinary medicine in New Zealand, you must make sure it is authorised first under the Agricultural Compounds and Veterinary Medicines (ACVM) Act 1997.
Specified pesticide active ingredients
The following pesticide active ingredients, as specified in the Regulations, may be used during the cultivation of medicinal cannabis.
- Fatty acids of 8 carbons or more in their chains, and their salts, including ammonium salt of fatty acid (Fatty acids, C8-18 and C18 unsaturated, ammonium salt) and potassium salts of fatty acids (Fatty acids, C8-18 and C18-unsaturated, potassium salts)
- Active ingredients that are foods or permitted food additives except where the food is deemed a novel food as defined in section 1.1.2 of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code and/or the composition of the active ingredient deviates from the physicochemical range or has undergone refining to a level exceeding that accepted as common for the food
- Sulphur
- Hydrogen peroxide
- Products containing paraffin oils or mineral oils as the active ingredient approved by an overseas regulatory authority for use on medicinal cannabis; or those with the following CAS numbers CAS: 8042-47-5; 72623-86-0; and 97862-82-3 as the active ingredient
- extract of Reynoutria sachalinensis
- GS-omega/kappa-Hxtx-Hv1a
- Microbial Active Ingredients:
- Akanthomyces lecanni
- Aureobasidium pullulans (strains DSM 14940, DSM 14941, and YBCA5)
- Autographa californica nucleopolyhedrovirus fv11 (baculovirus: nucleopolyhedrovirus Autographa californica (ACMNPV)
- Bacillus amyloliquefaciens (strains MBI600, D747, F272, QST 713, and BS1b)
- Bacillus subtilis (strain ATCC 6051, GBO3 and KTSB)
- Bacillus thuringiensis subspecies kurstaki, and aizawai
- Beauveria bassiana
- Clonostachys Rosea (strain J1446)
- Helicoverpa Armigera Nucleopolyhedrovirus BV-0003
- Metarhizium Brunneum (strain F52)
- Streptomyces lydicus (strain WYEC 108, and ATTC55445)
- Trichoderma asperellum (strains T34 and ICC 012)
- Trichoderma gamsii strain icc 080
- Trichoderma harzianum rifai strain KRL-AG2 (also known as strain T-22)
- Trichoderma virens (strain G-41, LU753)
- Ulocladium oudemansii (strain U3)
View the guide on Pesticide use on medicinal cannabis crops.
