4 more years, 4 more years...

Oh, it's too early and the harsh reality still hasn't completely settled in. Should we cancel the trip? Do we really want to venture south across the border into a country that has actually re-elected duhbya?

But it's the HIA convention and in San Francisco to boot. If there's any sense left, hopefully we can find it here.

So, jet lagged we arrived and deftly avoided the first night's festivities, though as soon as we got off the elevator it was clear we were in the right place.

The next morning I was met with many familiar and friendly faces. The day's speaking program started of upbeat with the "We Beat the DEA" forum featuring the HIA's crack legal team: David Bronner, Dave Frankel, Don Wirtshafter and Patrick Goggin.

Rather than getting into the nitty-gritty of the legal arguments, the speakers focused on the anecdotal and Patrick took the opportunity to tell the story of Hemphry's place of honour in the tale. As it turns out, Hemphry's seizure in Maine late last summer was a galvanizing moment in the HIA's 9th Circuit challenge of the DEA. Now if that isn't a silver lining!

The story, for those unfamiliar, went like this: Hemphry (the 1971 Pure Hemp VW bus) was seized and Yo, Hemphry's intrepid driver, charged with attempting to import pounds of marijuana into the US in the form of salted, seasoned, yummy hemp seeds. The reasoning: the 10 parts per million limit imposed by Health Canada is greater than zero and thus contrary to the US zero tolerance policy. This action, however absurd, was also against a standing court order that hemp seeds were legal to import into the US, so after our initial press releases (see resulting high times article here) Patrick Goggin got involved and wrote a stinging four page letter to the DEA putting them squarely in their place.

As Patrick told the HIA assembly this event put the DEA, from bottom to top, on their heels by forcing them to backpedal and change and align their stories. Ultimately the trial was judged unanimously in the HIA's favour largely on the argument that to ban hemp seed you would have to ban the poppy seed bagel and who in their right mind is going to mess with the poppy seed bagel?!

With the US market now open for hemp seed products, the subsequent presentations focused on recent developments in the rapidly growing North American hemp industry. According to Shawn Crew of Hemp Oil Canada, Canada grew approximately 8500 acres of hemp this past summer and he expects that in 2005 this will grow to 15,000 acres, of which 75% could be organic! (Shawn also came to our rescue with an urgent delivery of 2004 vintage organic hemp nut for our imminent launch of Fuel Bars across the Western US - much thanks Shawn).

Other highlights of the conference included Caroline and Bob from Living Tree r outlining how Living Tree Paper is now 90+% post consumer waste with the remaining content being Canadian grown flax and/or hemp fibre (left over from seed harvests) and now being pulped domestically. This is truly the future of sustainable paper! We are proud to have Living Tree on board for the Pure Hemp One Love CD, so pick it up and check out what great paper they make.

Day quickly turned to night and the hemp squad were all out in fine form. It was really a pleasure to renew old friendships and make new ones. As Donny aptly said looking around...all these years later so many of the faces are the same... we're still here and the dream is becoming a reality.

Thanks to the HIA and especially to David Bronner for your tireless work and commitment on the legal front. Here's looking forward to the next 10 years and beyond!

Dave Marcus

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