Updated January 24th 2021: New Zealand is known for its small size and beautiful landscape, but what can you grow on that picture-perfect land? Ganja? Maybe. Let’s find out! All of the natural beauty makes New Zealand an ideal place to consume marijuana, but we must know the laws before we jump right into using it because staying safe is a priority.
Best Seed Banks That Ship To New Zealand:
- MSNL: [Read Our Review] – Huge selection of seeds, fast and discrete shipping!
- ILoveGrowingMarijuana: [Read Our Review] – Best customer support in the market and FREE SHIPPING!
- Crop King Seeds: [Read Our Review] – Highly trusted Canadian brand with discrete worldwide shipping, many payment methods and is one of the only seed banks that accepts PayPal.
Contents
History of Cannabis in New Zealand
Let’s start with a quick history of New Zealand. So, interestingly enough New Zealand was the last large and liveable land to be discovered in the world. The first touch of humanity on what we know as New Zealand was by the Maori in the early to mid-1300s. When it comes to plant medicine in New Zealand, the indigenous people are normally the first to look at, but in the case of the Maori, they did not consume any intoxicants before the British introduced them.
Unlike other British colonies, New Zealand wasn’t encouraged to produce hemp because of its own native harakeke plant. Just in case people did get their hands on marijuana, New Zealand passed the Dangerous Drug Act in 1927. Although this wasn’t a big issue, they just wanted to make sure that no one who wasn’t prescribed was consuming cannabis. So, New Zealand didn’t know much about drugs until the “decade of exploration,”… the 1970’s.
Just as New Zealand and the rest of the world started using marijuana more openly, New Zealand passed the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975. This act made it a criminal offense to possess or grow marijuana…which did not help the right for legalizing marijuana at all. This hindrance did not cause people to stop using cannabis. All around the demand for cannabis was growing amongst college students and people in the arts.
Since cannabis wasn’t a natural part of Kiwi culture, it has been harder to normalize its presence as to other countries like India, UK or even Australia. Although cannabis has not had hundreds and hundreds of years in New Zealand, that does not mean anything because New Zealand is relatively new as well.
The Legality of Cannabis in New Zealand
The fight to legalize cannabis continued throughout the later 1900s and not much had changed until 2018. In 2018, the Misuse of Drugs Act became broader and allowed more people to use medical marijuana. This was big for New Zealand and the ball kept rolling. The next big move was when Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern agreed to hold a Cannabis Referendum 2020. The Cannabis Referendum gives the public the opportunity to use their voices to state whether they agree with decriminalizing recreational cannabis use. Giving the public a choice is a very important step to decriminalizing marijuana globally.
Currently, we are waiting for cannabis to be legalized completely in New Zealand. Right now the laws are strict, but the fact that 13% of the population smokes marijuana… the police will probably tolerate it. There are more important things to look out for like murder. Yes, cannabis is illegal, so you should not do something that you think will get you in trouble. Here are the laws according to the NZ Police,
Laws For 18+:
“Penalties associated with cannabis range from a $500 fine for possession to a 14-year jail term for its supply or manufacture.
Cultivation of cannabis, including to sow or plant it, can, on indictment, result in a 7-year jail term or an immediate 2 years jail term and/or $2,000 fine (depending on the amount).”
Laws For 17 and Under:
“If a young person under 17 years of age is reported for smoking or possessing cannabis they could be arrested.
If it is the first offense and the amount of cannabis in their possession does not constitute enough for supply they will be dealt with by the Police Youth Aid section using a number of options. These include:
- a warning
- alternative action (diversion)
- family group conference techniques
- Youth Court (in serious cases).
“It is also illegal to sell cannabis products such as bongs and vape pens.” Please be safe and smart! Right now it is illegal to buy cannabis seeds in New Zealand and if you’re caught there will either be a fine or a jail sentence. Anyone who does choose to buy seeds in New Zealand should figure out if this is something they are willing to risk.
New Zealand’s Cannabis Culture:
As stated above, New Zealand doesn’t really have much of a history with marijuana, so they’ve been able to build a culture from all of their own cannabis influences. Although some look down upon cannabis use, things have been changing. It also helps that New Zealand is ranked ninth in the world for its cannabis use.New Zealand has a pretty positive view of cannabis as a whole. In 2017, nearly 65% of the people from New Zealand supported recreational cannabis, and only a year later that went up to 67% support. Those supporting medical cannabis were 89% of the population. The most supportive city is Auckland, and the support is open and very public. There were even rallies in support of medical marijuana there that eventually led to the legalization of medical marijuana.
There isn’t much of a social cannabis culture (although cannabis use is widely supported) because of the fact that recreational marijuana is illegal there…but that won’t be for much longer. Many amazing things will happen once marijuana is legalized in New Zealand!
Best Online Seed Banks to Buy Cannabis Seeds in New Zealand
Since it is still considered illegal to buy cannabis seeds in New Zealand, you must know the risks of getting caught if you do buy seeds. You could face fines or a jail sentence, so beware. If one was looking for cannabis seeds for the soon to be legal country, here are a few of the best seed banks that ship to New Zealand. All of these brands have been featured on our top list of the most reliable seed banks in the industry.
MSNL:
Marijuana-Seeds.NL is a very classy website with tasteful design that is not at all overwhelming. This company has a very sweet and touching origin story. So, all of this started with two friends who started growing their collection of marijuana seeds by traveling all over Europe and Australia. The two friends realized the beauty and diversity of marijuana, so they kept trying and finding better strains. They have been at this business since 1999 and have built up an extensive collection of seeds as well as their own strains!
Now let’s get to their selection. At MSNL, they have their seeds separated into Feminized, Autoflowering, Regular, High CBD, Strain Types, Value Packs, Top Strains, and Sale. MSNL’s website is very easy to navigate and if you know what you want you can get right to it! So, when you click onto Strain Types, you can really pick exactly what you’d like. If you want a purple strain, you’d simply click an option in the drop-down menu and strains like “Granddaddy Purp,” “Purple Widow,” “Gelato,” and many more that pop up. What makes this even better is that at the bottom of the screen, they have given you a thorough explanation of the “Purple Cannabis Seeds & Strains.”
MSNL has such an easy to navigate site that buying cannabis seeds is very simple and time-efficient. Unlike many other companies, there is little to no stress when using their site to find exactly what you want.
When shipping through MSNL, you don’t have to worry. They use the most up to date ways to discreetly ship your package to you. Through their many years in the industry, they have nearly perfected shipping to their customers. One of their selling points is how discrete they truly are. Even their billing is extremely discrete because they care about their customers’ safety! Since they have been in the business for so long, they are able to sell their products at extremely reasonable prices.
Crop King Seeds Seeds:
Crop King Seeds bright colors and fun animations make the experience of buying marijuana seeds much more pleasant. The site despite everything feels exceptionally expert and very well done while additionally being well disposed and laid back. Who is Crop King Seeds? Crop King Seeds have been in the seed business since 2005. What makes them extraordinary is that this organization began as one worker and now has become a notable cannabis seed company. They highly value quality and administration over whatever else. CKS is prepared to converse with clients all day, every day, so it is not out of the ordinary that you will have extremely high-quality customer support and assistance.
With regards to CKS’s original seeds, they will blow you out of this world. Like most sites, Crop King Seeds permits you to browse a couple of various kinds of seeds to discover your preferred seeds whether it be autoflowering, feminized, standard, or CBD seeds. Their seeds are somewhat pricier than the recently referenced companies, however, the long periods of perfecting the genetic qualities and scanning for the best strains may add to the higher cost. Their least expensive seeds are around 5 seeds for $65.00.
Crop King Seeds made the list because of their quality. It would be perfect for you if you don’t mind spending a bit more money and have exceptional customer service.
ILoveGrowingMarijuana:
ILoveGrowingMarijuana’s website is simple yet very professional. Their site gives the reassurance that they know what they are doing. So, the founder of I Love Growing Marijuana has been writing about marijuana and growing it long before the company’s opening in 2012. Bergman, the founder, has been growing marijuana since the mid-1990s. He started becoming more and more interested in breeding and finding the best strains of marijuana, thus I Love Growing Marijuana was born.
At first glance of the website, you see the top bar where you can choose what you are looking for… Guides, Strains, Journals, Seeds, Fertilizer, Grow Kits, and Usage. What should be noted is that I Love Growing Marijuana’s platform is set up to answer all of your questions and is a one-stop-shop for information and marijuana seeds. They can set you up with everything you need and they have perfected their online interface.
Once you’re ready to find the strain that best suits your wants and needs, you just click on seeds in the upper corner. On the blog, you can research the strains first through the categories: energy the strain gives, the plant type, (Indica, Sativa, Hybrid), and strong versus mellow. This feature makes it very simple for those who are new to buying marijuana seeds to understand the different types. The blog is a very good learning tool.
When you’re ready to buy the strain of seeds you’d like, you will be presented with so many amazing prices. The current sale is to buy 10 get 10 free, which can save up to $70. If you don’t mind a bargain, I Love Growing Marijuana might be the right site for you!
Final Thoughts on Cannabis Seeds in New Zealand:
Here was the history, laws, and buying options for those in New Zealand. With New Zealand being on the precipice of legalization of recreational marijuana, this is a great time to research where you will buy your seeds!
The world is changing in terms of legalization and the overall outlook on cannabis, and New Zealand is no exception. In this post we discussed everything from current laws and regulations and the best seed banks to chose from when you’re purchasing seeds in New Zealand.
