Cannabis Legalization in New Zealand

On December 11, 2018, the New Zealand Parliament passed the Misuse of Drugs (Medicinal Cannabis) Amendment Bill which proposed to improve access to medicinal cannabis for New Zealanders suffering from terminal illness. The bill also permits companies to manufacture medical cannabis products for domestic and international markets and removes cannabidiol as a controlled drug, establishing it as a prescription medicine. Regulations to enable a Medicinal Cannabis Scheme were passed on the 18 December 2019 and came into effect on April 1, 2020.

New Zealand Cannabis Business Licenses

There are five types of licences relating to the supply of medicinal cannabis products available:

Information taken from the Ministry of Health of New Zealand. All fees are in New Zealand dollars and include GST. All application fees are non-refundable, even if the application is declined.

Activity fees are charged per location. If applicants plan to perform the same activity at two different locations, they will need to pay two activity fees. All applicants must first pay a fee for an initial check and obtain a Medicinal Cannabis License. Applicants must apply for at least one activity that will be specified on their Medicinal Cannabis License in the initial application. They can then add another activity at any time after the Medicinal Cannabis Agency has issued a license.

Initial check:

• New application fee: $345.00
• Annual renewal fee: $345.00

Medicinal Cannabis License:

• New application fee: $2,587.50
• Annual renewal fee: $2,587.50

In 2020, there were 20 companies licensed to grow cannabis for research purposes, and in 2023 the number of cannabis companies increased to 37 nationwide. According to the Medicinal Cannabis Agency, there were 42 license holders as of June 2024.

In July 2024, the New Zealand government amended the Misuse of Drugs Regulations, stating that operators exporting medical cannabis now only have to meet the quality standards in the countries they are exporting to.

New Zealand Cannabis Market

Cannabis Delivery Service in New Zealand

The Medicinal Cannabis Scheme does not provide for home delivery of medical cannabis.

New Zealand Cannabis Taxes

Only the usual sales tax applies to medicinal cannabis. There is no excise tax applied to medicinal cannabis.

New Zealand Licensing Process

Before you apply:

• Decide what kind of business you want to establish.
• Ensure that you have a suitable location for your business.
• Have proper security arrangements in place.
• Read the guide from the Ministry of Health of New Zealand about applying for a Medicinal Cannabis License.
• Ensure that you are eligible to hold a license.
• If the license applicant is an entity, there must be 1 or more individuals nominated to be a ‘responsible person’: someone who is authorized to control the activity or activities for which the license was obtained and to communicate with the Medicinal Cannabis Agency on behalf of the entity.
• Check if you need any additional licenses: for example, a license to manufacture medicines. Fees for these licenses are additional to the fees for a medicinal cannabis license.
• Develop a cannabis business plan to estimate the start-up expenses and potential profitability.

The application and review process will follow the timeline below:

Application submission: For an electronic submission, the application form along with the supporting documents must be scanned and emailed to medicinalcannabis@health.govt.nz. Alternatively, copies of the application form and supporting documents can be posted to the address indicated in the guide.

Initial check of application: The initial check ensures that the application is complete and that all relevant documents are included. The invoice for the initial check must be paid in order for it to commence.

Full assessment of application: The Medicinal Cannabis Agency will perform an evaluation of the application to make sure that it meets the regulatory requirements. During the assessment of the application, the Medicinal Cannabis Agency may ask for additional information or explanation of the information provided. The fee for the Medicinal Cannabis License and for each activity that the license will cover should be paid before the full assessment of the application can begin.

Inspection of the location: Inspections must be scheduled at least one month in advance. They are performed to ensure that proper security arrangements are in place.

Issue of a Medicinal Cannabis License: If the Agency approves the application, the license to perform the relevant activities at the specified locations is issued for up to one year.

The application for renewal of a license should be made no earlier than 90 days and no later than 30 days before the expiry of the license.

The application must provide information in a form and manner as prescribed by the Director-General (the chief executive of the responsible department) which may include, but is not limited to the following:

• The name, address, and contact details of the applicant or in the case of a body corporate or partnership, the name of every director or partner and the “name, address, and contact details of each person nominated to be a responsible person”.
• The 1 or more types of licensed activities to be added to the license.
• “A declaration from each person nominated to be a responsible person that they are eligible under regulation 31.”
• Information about locations to be used for the licensed activities for which the license is sought.
• The details of adequate arrangements for physical and procedural security as well as the security of staff members at the locations that are to be used for the licensed activities.
• The details of standard operating procedures for each activity.
• The location where the records of the activities will be kept.
• Adequate additional information to enable the Director-General to assess the eligibility of the applicant to hold a license for the activity. Additional information specified for each activity can be found here.

In case the license application is declined, the applicant can apply to the Director-General of Health for a review of the decision. The application for a review must be received by no later than 14 days after the day that the Agency gave notice of their decision to the applicant. The reviewer will conduct the review “in line with regulation 41 of the Misuse of Drugs (Medicinal Cannabis) Regulations 2019”.

What is next:

• Every license holder and every responsible person must comply with all conditions imposed on the license holder by the regulations and ensure that every employee, agent and contractor complies with the regulations as well.
• Any starting material intended for export, a cannabis-based ingredient or a medicinal cannabis product should meet the minimum quality standard with the exceptions mentioned here. The requirements for meeting the minimum quality standard include:
  • Requirements for testing with maximum limits
  • Other quality requirements
  • Testing and validation of testing method
• Any testing or validation of testing method required for meeting the minimum quality standard should be carried out by a GMP-certified manufacturer or laboratory.
• Stability testing must be done on any cannabis-based ingredient or medicinal cannabis product in accordance with the ICH Q1A Guideline to determine its shelf life and recommended storage conditions.
• Any starting material intended for export or a dried product must be positively identified as cannabis by use of both macroscopic and microscopic examination.
• The active ingredients in a cannabis-based ingredient or a medicinal cannabis product must be positively identified by use of chromatographic or spectroscopic methods.
• A container made of a material that complies with chapters 3.1 and 3.2 of the European Pharmacopoeia must be used for packing a cannabis-based ingredient or a medicinal cannabis product.
• Only a pesticide which is a trade name product that is registered under the Agricultural Compounds and Veterinary Medicines Act 1997 for use on cannabis can be applied.
• An authorized person should be allowed to inspect a location specified in the license at any reasonable time.
• The Director-General can take samples of cannabis and cannabis products at any time to examine or test them.
• The applicant shall establish any standard operating procedures required by the regulations, including security; recordkeeping; employee qualifications, supervision, and training; quality assurance; adverse event reporting and recall; waste disposal and sanitation; transportation of medicinal cannabis; inventory management, including storage and labeling of medicinal cannabis; cash management and anti-fraud procedures; and preventing unlawful diversion of medicinal cannabis.

New Zealand Cannabis Market Infographics

Cannabis Cultivation, Extraction and Manufacturing Business Plan Sample, New Zealand

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