Is global warming killing off NZs Cannabis?

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If Vice said it, it must be about 95% true…

New Zealand Is Suffering from a Severe Weed Shortage

New Zealand is suffering its worst weed drought in recent history, and so far pot-starved kiwis have no one to point the finger at. The current shortage began at the start of the year, with parts of the South Island and upper North Island seemingly affected the worst. One grower from South Island’s east coast Waimate district told media earlier this month it’s the most severe shortage they had seen in 15 years, and that it was a “nightmare for consumers,” who were struggling to buy weed at any price.

…talking to those inside the cannabis industry, most are saying that crops are being devastated by a kind of mold with some suggesting the drought and the extreme heat seems to be stimulating the growth of this mould.

If climate change wasn’t terrifying enough, it might be destroying NZs cannabis as well?

On other environmental news, Local Government are also now saying the thing that Cameron Slater and David Farrar and the National Party claim isn’t really happening – global warming – will see NZers relocated in massive numbers…

There will be a need to uproot communities and retreat from some areas in New Zealand because of climate change, the chief executive of Local Government New Zealand says.

Malcolm Alexander, chief executive of the body that represents the country’s councils, said his personal view was that managed retreat was “probably inevitable” in some areas.

“[These are] difficult conversations and you have to bring communities with you as you talk that through, and what that means in Otago versus Taranaki versus Northland – it may all be different.

“There is going to be an education aspect to it in my view with our communities, because some of this stuff will be challenging – you have the issue of defend or retreat, these types of things that we have to work through.”

…but don’t worry NZ First and Labour are here to demand more oil drilling as well. Looks like our climate change denial has spread like mold on cannabis to almost every other political party.

Thank god for the Greens.

 

TDB Recommends NewzEngine.com

 

11 COMMENTS

  1. “There will be a need to uproot communities and retreat from some areas in New Zealand because of climate change….”
    How sad for all the yuppies and one percenters to have their multi-million dollars castles invaded by the sea so they have to retreat to the towns and cities inhabited by all the commoners.
    No doubt they will demand the construction of billion dollar seawalls (which they will certainly expect everyone else to pay for) to protect their privileged lifestyles.

    • It’s not all rich people. In Dunedin, the main area to be hit by rising sea levels is the suburbs of St Kilda, Tahuna, South Dunedin and Forbury, which are flat, below the sand dunes, and some of the poorest areas in the city. The rich people generally live up the hills, from where you can actually see the sea.

      • My point exactly, if it isn’t the rich affected then there won’t be much sense of urgency. Action only takes place when it starts to affect all the money making areas – the shopping malls, tourist attractions, the big chain stores, the dairy farms, motorways and the airports. If it only affects poor housing areas near the beaches then who cares? National certainly doesn’t.

    • Omaha. Right at sea level multi million dollar mansions, empty for most of the year (NZ has NO housing “crisis”, only a crisis in distribution) will be inundated in winter storms I expect within a decade.

      Mangawhai Heads, right at the northern end, a new huge expensive house being built right beside the ocean with only a small dune and one old Pohutukawa to protect it.

      So many coastal properties, holiday homes for the uber rich, right by the sea.

      I see developers creating new subdivisions with properties literally beside the water within 0.5m of the high tide mark. Selling them for over $100,000 here in Mangawhai Heads.

      I’m figuring a great number of rich NZers believe the propaganda and misinformation peddled by the multi trillion dollar oil, coal and gas industry. They have a distrust of science and scientists. They’re literally betting hundreds of thousands of dollars that they’re right, and the 97% of scientists who conclude sea levels will rise are wrong.

      Which just goes to prove, rich does not necessarily equal smart.

      And I’ll be damned if I’ll pay for their sea walls (which won’t work anyway) to be built to “protect their investments”.

      The writing’s been on the wall for long enough for people to figure it out. If they’re too stupid to get it, I don’t want to be paying for their stupidity.

  2. lol…very quirky post …the drought and climate change warming is getting very serious indeed when it affects NZ Green …this should wake some buggers up!

    …i wonder if the mould affecting the plants is Aspergillus niger…which has also affected some vineyards in the last couple of years

    • Could be Botrytis cinerea. It’s that time of the year and it loves closely grown vegetation.

      Possible remedy: a change in cultivation practices, perhaps? There are few home gardener remedies available and some would taste truly foul (fish oil emulsion…)

      Or some serious plant breeding to get resistant and effective strains. There are enough seed varieties offered on the internet.

  3. Get real, Martyn. Drought does not cause mold, dampness does. As for the (not universal) shortage, blame the police and the idiots in Parliament. Some growers left the business after Operation Lime – remember that? You can’t blame global warming for everything – and cannabis thrives in the tropics, in case you had forgotten that.

    Nice to see NZ featured at vice.com, but saying the price of an ounce has averaged $350 for the last 20 years, as the article does, is just plain wrong. Having said that, cannabis has proved to be a remarkably inflation proof product – thanks to increased supply. The current state of undersupply will be remedied by the market, not soon enough for everyone’s liking, of course.

  4. As a friend of mine used to say “… even the queen takes a crap.” The good news (I guess) is that the darlings of neo-liberalism will be drowned just as quickly as us scum on the bottom and dear old muddle new zild will be. Climate change is unerringly democratic in practice.

    As for losing the weed, Bugger! But it might force desperate stoners off their arses and into the streets to do something about this Government of snake oil salesmen and carpetbaggers. Hoo-bloomin’-ray!

  5. I thought most New Zealand canabis is grown indoors. But as to climate change it is good to see Local Government New Zealand which is reasonably conservative have the gumption to speak out. All eyes should be on the insurance industry because at some point it is going to raise premiums for coastal properties that are at risk and most likely refuse to insure some properties which will immediately become worthless. They won’t be old baches either. They will be new subdivisions at Paraparaumu and so on.

  6. Between last year’s outdoor harvest season and now, the NZ Government removed all interim retail licences for psychoactive substances issued under the PSA 2013, removing all synthetic cannabis products from the legal marketplace.
    Is it not possible that the current cannabis shortage is partly due to this event last year which created an increased demand for cannabis, a demand that indoor cultivation has failed to keep pace with, and also because this season’s outdoor cultivation yet to be harvested?
    Are we producing more cannabis, but also consuming more?
    Or are we consuming the same amount, but producing less?
    We have no way of knowing for certain, thanks to prohibition.

  7. I hope the threat NZ green is overcome.
    I bought a packet of the synthetic just before it became illegal. smoked half a joint, got SUPER agitated / paranoid then flushed the remainder down the loo. Even allowing for the long time since I had a smoke that stuff was not a good look, I never had that severe an effect even with quality hydro.
    Oh re the advancing sea levels – its nice to be right, for 40 years I have been saying building on sandspits is crazy – so long Paunui, Omaha etcetera, oh bugger my inlaws have a place at Matarangi better check out the rate of rise!
    All of which goes to prove natural is best!

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