In 1998, after I decided to focus my environmental advocacy on the relegalization of industrial hemp, I landed my first hemp related matter. A shipment of viable hemp seed on route from China to Nicaragua (for the purpose of developing hemp seed for tropical climates) was seized by U.S. Customs after the ship transporting the seed made a port of call in Long Beach, California. My charge was to obtain the release of the viable hemp seed despite the seed’s U.S. prohibition since 1970 pursuant to the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).
As a young attorney my experience was somewhat scant, but my inherent persistence that guided my work paid off. I argued to Customs that because the seed was destined for Nicaragua, not imported into the U.S., the CSA was neither invoked nor violated if the shipment was allowed to continue to its Nicaraguan destination. The argument was initially rejected but I pushed back and appealed up Custom’s Long Beach office’s chain of command. After weeks of taking the seizure to the next level of authority, Customs finally relented and released the hemp seed enabling the Nicaraguan seed development project to proceed.
Unfortunately, Nicaraguan authorities later halted the seed trials and imprisoned the Canadian agronomist, Paul Wylie, PhD, leading the project. His team contacted and advised me that the Nicaraguan Court of Appeal would release Dr. Wylie, but only if I could secure documentation evidencing that the seed went through U.S. jurisdiction. Doubtful that I could achieve the request, I nonetheless went back to Customs – Dr. Wylie’s life depended on it. Once again, I faced stiff resistance from Customs. Ultimately, though, my perseverance and Dr. Wylie’s plight won the day; I obtained a single page, carbon copy Customs form acknowledging that the seeds passed through the Port of Long Beach. With that, Dr. Wylie was released. Not only did I play a pivotal role in the first shipment of viable hemp seed passing through U.S. ports since the 1950s, I also helped release an innocent researcher from the clutches of a Nicaraguan prison.
This early experience in my formative years taught me to maintain the resolve in my advocacy while facing initial headwinds and rejection. The legal battle is rarely over, only when we accept it, or the Supreme Court has ruled. And even then, an improved resolution can still be reached. 28 years of dogged advocacy, determination, and conflict resolution has schooled me on that benefitting hundreds of clients during that time span.
