This article is for those people thinking of ordering cannabis seeds to Australia and the various issues that may arise as a result of that. This article was updated on the 8th August 2023 and so should still be relevant for some time. Although hopefully as cannabis legalisation spreads throughout the world in the coming years, this article will be less and less relevant! :-)
Doing some preliminary research before placing an order for a potentially prohibited item in your country is a prudent step. We've compiled answers to frequently asked questions below, aiming to provide helpful information. However, please be aware that this content does not constitute legal advice, and Seed City is not authorized to provide legal counsel.
What's the Law in Australia on Cannabis Seeds?
The law on cannabis seeds is always closely related to the law on cannabis itself for obvious reasons and so it's best to start there! Cannabis itself is illegal in Australia but is allowed for medical reasons and patients who have a prescription are allowed to use cannabis grown and regulated by national regulators. For those without a medical prescription who are found with cannabis, Australia thankfully has a sensible approach to drug use and practices a policy of "reducing harm" rather than severe punishment. As Australia is a large place made of many states, the exact punishment will vary based on location but generally, it is not a severe one. Obviously those people dealing in extraordinary amounts of cannabis will face a different punishment than those who are simply recreational users. Now we've set the scene a little, we can move on to the Australian law's approach to cannabis seeds.
The approach is quite similar to that of cannabis itself in that the seeds are only legal in the sense that they can be used by Australians with a medical license in order to grow their own medicine. There is rather a grey area in cannabis seeds that are purchased for collectible and souvenir uses and not intended for germination but as this as not yet been tested as far as we can see, it is unclear as to whether this would "hold up". I suspect it is unlikely we will find out in a court of law unless a very large number of cannabis seeds are found, as the time and cost of taking people to court for possession of fairly small numbers of cannabis seeds would be impractical. This Wikipedia article has a more in-depth breakdown of various Australian Drug Laws affecting cannabis and is worth a read - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabis_in_Australia
What Would Happen if Cannabis Seeds are Stopped at Customs in Australia?
Border Control and Customs in Australia regularly find packages that contain prohibited items. Every day thousands of packages are checked, opened and "seized" and there are various standard procedures that are followed based on the type of goods seized, the amount seized and so on. In regards to cannabis seeds, it is very likely that the receiver of the package will be sent a letter informing them of the customs seizure and the reason for the seizure. The bottom of this letter will have a stern warning about how "future attempts to import prohibited items may result in personal penalties or criminal prosecution". Now, whilst this is obviously not something to completely disregard, it is a boiler-plate form letter that is sent out to thousands of people every day. I have no doubt that there is some system that will record the name on the package, the address of the sender and receiver and log this in some database somewhere. Therefore I do not believe it would be a great idea for a person to have multiple instances where they have ordered goods under their name that have been seized, as individuals who have had 1 package seized are in the 100s of thousands or more but those which start racking up the numbers of seizures might be much smaller and therefore worth someone taking a look at. In summary then the vast majority of people in Australia who order cannabis seeds would suffer no more than receiving a stern letter warning them not to do it again. Having said that, there are mentions online of Australians who have had a search warrant issued with a mention of a previously seized package mentioned in it and we would be remiss not to mention this. It would seem likely that there were other factors contributing to the warrant outside of the package seizure.
How does Australian Customs find Cannabis Seeds?
That's a great question, if I do say so myself! Many of us have probably watched TV shows centered around airport security and customs, with one particular show being "Nothing to Declare," showcasing Australian Customs procedures. While it's unrealistic to expect TV shows to reveal all the intricacies and secrets of customs operations, they do offer a general idea of how international packages undergo screening. This process, not surprisingly, resembles practices in other countries and involves X-ray scans, sniffer dogs, and visual inspections. Suspicious packages are typically opened by customs officers and their contents are often tested in machines to identify any potential illegal substances.
Even if customs procedures were considered flawless, intercepting and seizing all "illegal" packages would still be a monumental challenge due to their sheer volume and diversity. The task of scanning every single package from every country to achieve a 100% success rate is currently unattainable. Although scanning technology is advancing and new methods can distinguish between organic and inorganic materials, they still heavily rely on human observation, which has its limitations.
For the time being, while Australian customs do manage to seize a significant number of packages, those intercepted are likely the ones that are poorly concealed or emit strong odors. Since cannabis seeds typically lack a strong scent and aren't typically on the top of the customs watchlist, they are more likely to go undetected.
How Does Seed City Send Cannabis Seeds to Australia?
Here at Seed City we have a great deal of experience in sending cannabis seeds worldwide and we have sent many packages to Australia. We are happy to report that our success rate is roughly 99% but then we do go to a large amount more effort than our competition. I am sure that you would expect us to criticise our competitor's shipment methods and praise our own but in this case we honestly feel that this is justified! We make sure that all packages where a "stealth" shipping method is selected are sent in a way which guarantees the customer the least possible issues. If we didn't have this confidence in our methods we wouldn't guarantee delivery or we'd be quickly out of business and we've been going strong for 12 years now! Unfortunately we don't think it best to go into details of our shipment methods as it is best they remain a surprise to some but I can say that we do get regular emails accusing us of not sending any seeds at all! That is until we tell the customer where to look :-)
We hope you've enjoyed this article and you can find a whole hell of a lot of cannabis seeds, over 7,500 and counting, available right here on Seed City. Please do not hesitate to email us at [email protected] if you should have any questions or problems! Without you, the customer, there is no Seed City and so it's simply good business to keep you happy!
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