The Hemp Industries Association (HIA) is a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

trade group A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific Industry (economics), industry. An industry tra ...

representing

hemp Hemp, or industrial hemp, is a botanical class of ''Cannabis sativa'' cultivars grown specifically for industrial or medicinal use. It can be used to make a wide range of products. Along with bamboo, hemp is among the fastest growing plants o ...

companies, researchers and supporters in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. The group petitions for fair and equal treatment of industrial hemp. Since 1994, the HIA has been dedicated to education, industry development, and the accelerated expansion of hemp world market

supply and demand In microeconomics, supply and demand is an economic model of price determination in a Market (economics), market. It postulates that, Ceteris paribus, holding all else equal, in a perfect competition, competitive market, the unit price for a ...

History

HIA was established in 1994 by 45 U.S. hemp industry companies. Cannabis activist and author Chris Conrad served as its first president. By 1998 the association had more than 200 members. In 2010, the organization bought the diaries of Lyster Dewey and plans to display them to the public for the first time in many years at the first Hemp History Week. HIA said in 2014 that

hemp seed oil Hemp oil (hemp seed oil) is oil obtained by pressing hemp seeds. Cold pressed, unrefined hemp oil is dark to clear light green in color, with a nutty flavor. The darker the color, the grassier the flavour. It should not be confused with hash oi ...

is less than 25 parts per million CBD, thus hemp oil is not a source of CBD which could be used in epilepsy treatments.

HIA vs. DEA

On October 9, 2001, the

Drug Enforcement Administration The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within th ...

(DEA) posted an interpretive rule on its website declaring that all hempseed products containing any traces of THC would be considered seizable contraband, effectively criminalizing all hempseed products in the US. After a period of public comment, the DEA filed the final proposed rule in the

Federal Register The ''Federal Register'' (FR or sometimes Fed. Reg.) is the official journal of the federal government of the United States that contains government agency rules, proposed rules, and public notices. It is published every weekday, except on feder ...

on March 21, 2003. One week later, the HIA joined with the Organic Consumers Association and several companies which used hempseed in one or more products to file suit against the DEA rule going into effect. On February 6, 2004, the

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * District o ...

ruled unanimously for the HIA, opining that the DEA did not have the authority under the federal Controlled Substances Act to ban an otherwise legal product because it might have traces of THC. On September 28, 2004, the Supreme Court of the United States declined to hear the appeal, allowing the Ninth Circuit decision to stand. The settlement between HIA and DEA was finally reached on May 25, 2018, in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

References

External links

* {{Official, http://www.thehia.org Agricultural marketing organizations Cannabis cultivation Trade associations based in the United States Cannabis industry trade associations category:1994 in cannabis Agricultural marketing in the United States