35 Chris Boucher - In The Beginning

In this episode we discuss the beginning of the Hemp Industries Association, in 1994 in Arizona. Before the HIA was established, there was the True Hemp Industry Alliance (THIA), first established in 1992, who called the meeting where HIA name was created. THIA created a certification program called the True Hemp seal certification - to test and confirm products being labelled as hemp were 100% hemp, and preventing unscrupulous players from mislabeling products. This group pooled together funds to import millions of tons of hemp textiles into the USA. Like any new movement there were competing groups and trying to gather everyone on one platform was not easy. Chris discusses some of the issues in the “beginning” of hemp’s reformation - the difficulty confirming that imported Chinese hemp was truly hemp and not mixed with cotton or other fibers. It wasn’t without obstacles as competing certifications were created, debate raged on using the hemp plant leaf versus those that didn’t want the stigma attached, and police threatened arrest for serving hemp seeds at festivals. For the past 3 decades, Chris has fought to raise awareness of hemp and it’s benefits. His stories provide insight into where the industry started and some of the battles fought along the way.

“We wanted to see hemp like Cotton Inc and we wanted to see hemp like the linen council, so we used those as models. This thing was bigger than all of us, we’re like hemp’s gonna save the world!” - Chris Boucher

Learn more about this episode of Lets Talk Hemp with Morris Beegle and Rick Trojan at www.letstalkhemp.com/35

Morris Beegle [email protected]

@morrisbeegle @LetsTalkHemp @NoCoHempExpo @ExperienceHemp @WAFBAofficial

And a new day will dawn for those who stand long and the forests will echo with laughter

Produced by PodConx

Sound Designed by Jamie Humiston - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-humiston-91718b1b3/