HempCon

Let me explain a little something before I go into the story of
2010 LA HempCon.

I just recently moved to LA(Santa Monica) from the Philadelphia suburbs, becoming a legal patient was about 15% of the reason to be honest. I am 32 and was in the Navy from 2000-2004 stationed in Seattle for 2 years and the other 2 were in San Diego.
In 2004 when I got out I moved back home cause I missed it a bit and was easy to with a ton of long time(from like 3rd grade) friends at home so it was an easy decision at the time.
So I went to HempCon only for the reason that:

A: I was new to LA and to being a medical patient.
B: "thought" it would be productive and maybe a learning experience
C: might bump into a sexy lady who has same views on certain things

Other than a few sexy ladies I found nothing I was looking for. Sure there were like 2 different sets of people walking around with clipboards getting LA county and Orange county residents signatures to protest the local DA's sudden conflict of state laws.
HEY HEMPCON, "bite my shiny metal ass and fork up some cash and buy some signs", you know you are charging $15 a person for some slapped assed show, at least try to make us think you are reinvesting in this show for the future. How do you think to have 1(one) sign pointing the way to the corralled area of the superfuckedlineof2010
http://i45.tinypic.com/1427u3n.jpg

It truly was a commercialized funk of a half assed event. The line was about as insane as you could imagine, there were no signs in any way directing people with or without tickets where to go and what you need(ID card for age verification and $MONEY$ to buy your ticket to get in).
Everyone everywhere asking others who did not know where to go for what and it was a mess ALMOST in epic proportions. If it had been a line for a sporting event or a rap video someone could have been shot LOL, but really!

So when you get in the right line, you buy your ticket, you now get into another line to use your ticket which was 2x longer than the ticket line.
I mean this isn't their first rodeo, you would think they would be able to run this thing at least somewhat professionally, but I digress, and was baffled in how badly they planned, which is funny since the same folks just did this shindig in San Fran a few months ago. They honestly had 1 volunteer for the 600+ person line. The first picture I post is the ONLY sign they had directing people to the "general" area of the west wing of the convention center.
http://i49.tinypic.com/jj62x0.jpg

So when I get inside it looks like the show is somewhat substantial, but you are again let down by the time you see after 50ft or so that only half of the smallest area of the west wing of the LA convention center is being used when the other 40% is "used" as a standing area for guest speakers and such. Unless cheech and chong, not very many people go pay $15 to hear the president of the Beverly Hills chapter of NORML speak, who the fuck cares what she has to say.

The worst part of the entire show was EVERYONE WAS THERE TO SELL SOMETHING OR GET YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS to email you to SELL YOU SOMETHING. Prostitute looking skanks passing flyers for dispensaries, and other bullshit half assed scheme to make money while medical prescriptions are legal.

Even this asshole was attending with a 25' trailer, specifically built to produce 80lbs or something insane like that amount every harvest, is a totally capable trailer and can be moved easily at any time, is built to work well with being "moved once a day if needed". If I was 19 yeah I would be like that's kick ass bruce lee style, but not at 32. I really am not the angry troll shouting up at the sky about why things change for the bad really I am not, just when I think I am going to this potentially great show to advance a movement of people's beliefs and i walk into SELLOUT STATION it is a bit disheartening.
And really $15, if there is someone out there who went to this show and truly thinks the $15 was well worth it we need to medicate and have a chat with a 10 minute break for PS3 cause I think you are losing whats left of your peanut up top.

To bring in a easily mobile trailer developed to be on the move while growing 80 pounds, is an asshole move cause other states are going to take notice, and only after so much time it is gonna be our fault(CA) that these people are doing this stuff in their backyards where it isnt legal.
If you really think political pressure from other state governments aren't rock solid you either are a dummy or have no decent education.
States can pressure companies in their state not to do business with certain states, offer them tax breaks to work with others.
Parading everyone and their brother through a mobile factory just doesn't seem too cool to me and definitely not improving the overall mentality about of the culture or medical reasons

Here is super asshole-face
http://i50.tinypic.com/53r6lx.jpg

In short I will never go again and wished I didn't waste my friday, or the $15 and gas to go.
Shows like this are generally a set-back for the movement, and if you went you obviously have a fondness for the ideals like I do.

Did anyone see the wacky ass backyard wannabe UFC fighters there with the shit ass videos of people doing either mock or real fights of gym class heros?
Really HempCon was i that hard to fill up the little booth space as to have those nitwits there? To commercialize your backyard fights is just plain funny to me and the majority of folks walking by I noticed for a few minutes since their effect of humor(which was not intended) was entertaining me.

Why would pot heads watch this garbage? That is what I was thinking while being entertained while watching passer-bys giggle and do second looks while guys in wife-beater shirts, did their semi tough-guy slight nods at potential buys to get or affirm their attention if even ever so slight.

I will have to say there was this SUPER SUPER FINE female working very close to the UFC type guys, she was half black and white or something like that, light brown curly, very curly hair and hott ass freckles, i was going to chat her up she was so fine, and i usually don't chat girls up in such a public place plus she was working either as a model/spokesmodel or just a hott ass girl who is in the culture, it was for some kind of home delivery medication business I think.

Well friends, I hope I didn't come off as a whiny person, talking about the good old days. I just am a huge proponent for the cause and culture and firmly believe this takes away from the larger goal of it all.
I was pleased to see 1-2 booths of the older somewhat hippie generation who had booths for the purpose of educating people, answering questions and getting people signed up to vote or to sign protest sheets for whatever certain reason.
There can be fun, but when it starts looking like Vegas you know the whole shitter is going up in flames.
Remember nobody wants to live in Las Vegas, everyone want to "just quickly visit" lets not make that thought into the master plan