In July 2006, both organisers of the two hemp fairs in Spain (Expocannabis Madrid and Highlife Barcelona) announced their plans to organise the next edition of their fair on the same date, 19-21 January 2007. ENCOD made an effort to mediate between the fairs and make them coordinate their agendas. Finally it was agreed that the fairs would take place on different dates, but a definitive solution has yet to be found.

To the organisers of the Expocannabis Fair, Madrid and the Highlife Fair, Barcelona, Carlos Palomino and Sergio Martinez

Antwerpen, 13 September 2006

Dear Carlos and Sergio,

We thank you for your responses to our latest letter of 29 August. The content of both responses reflects the will to find a solution, which is very pleasant.

We resume the two essential proposals (the phrases between brackets are cited from your letters):

Highlife proposes to organize its fair in Barcelona in January and “Expocannabis Madrid in any of the months between March and November. In exchange Highlife would commit itself to participate in the Expocannabis Fair in Madrid with all the companies of its group, helping the fair from within our media on condition that Expocannabis will do the same with our fair.”

Spannabis proposes to co-organize the two fairs (Madrid and Barcelona) together with Highlife. “Without competition, all expositors can go to the same event, as will the public, which means an obvious commercial advantage. Expenses would be reduced, the fairs would win in professionality, impact and organization.”

Even if Highlife would decide not to accept this proposal, Spannabis states that it has already decided to move the dates of its Expocannabis Fair to 26, 27 and 28 january 2007 and organise the next edition of Spannabis Barcelona on 23 to 25 March 2007.

This decision is a positive result of the mediation process which we are in. Now that the immediate pressure has disappeared, we can try to find a lasting solution.

To our belief this lasting solution can only be found in an agreement between the two fairs to coordinate or collaborate. The proposal to organise the two fairs together could be a departure point for the search of this agreement.

We believe that to reach this agreement it is necessary to have a physical meeting between you or your representatives. There are many details that are difficult to arrange on Internet. Of course you can choose another option, but we believe a meeting is the best.

We are at your disposal to facilitate this meeting, that could take place in Barcelona (the former oine having taken place in Madrid). El Gremi (the catalan Asociación of growshops) would be willing to faciliatte the room of the meeting. Apart from el Gremi, the meeting could count with the assistance of the ENCOD delegate in Spain (Virginia Montañes) and the FAC representative (Martin Barriuso).

However, for the travel expenses of both Virginia (who comes from Málaga) and Martín (from Bilbao), we would need to ask your help, in view of our financial situation.

During the meeting, apart from the negotiation on the organisation of the fairs, we could discuss in detail your contribution to the struggle for the normalisation of cannabis. Sergio Martínez has already committed himself at the High Life of Barcelona in 2005 to donate one euro for each paying visitor during the next fair, and Carlos Palomino says in his letter that it would be “just if ENCOD receives a percentage of the benefits for its mediatory work and its work for the antiprohibitionist movement.”

We hope to hear your responses on the proposal to meet in Barcelona and take in charge the costs of Virginia and Martín.

Thanks very much for your collaboration.

Best wishes,

On behalf of ENCOD,

Christine Kluge, Marina Impallomeni, Virginia Montañes, Farid Ghehioueche, Jan van der Tas, Joep Oomen (Steering Committee)

To the organisers of the Expocannabis Fair, Madrid and the Highlife Fair, Barcelona, Carlos Palomino and Sergio Martinez

Antwerpen, 29 August 2006

Dear Carlos and Sergio,

Thanks very much for your responses to our letter of Tuesday 22 August. We have studied the content of your responses and we think there is an opportunity to solve the current dilemma.

We would like to clarify to you the reasons of our intervention. Apart from being a commercial event, the hemp fair is also a political event: a space where the absurdity of cannabis prohibition can be shown. We are convinced that the co-existence of two big hemp fairs in Spain is perfectly viable. And we wish to contribute to the solution of a commercial conflict that threatens this co-existence. We think this in the interest of all involved.

Our impression is that you are both willing to come to a definitive arrangement, which facilitates the organization of both fairs according to a coordinated agenda on the fairs in Spain, as it has been the case in 2004 and 2005: one fair was organised in winter time (Spannabis Barcelona, february), the other in autumn (Highlife Barcelona, october).

The current problem was caused by the fact that since autumn 2005, Spannabis has decided to organise also a fair in september (Expocannabis, Madrid). Since then, the planning of both fairs has been in function of competition strategies, which has disturbed the initial agreement.

For the future, the question remains how to divide the agenda (i.e. who would organise the winter fair, and who the autumn fair). This question has to do with the solution of the current dilemma.

On this moment, Highlife Barcelona plans to organise its fair always in January, while Spannabis has proposed to organise the fair in Barcelona always in February. To reach a solution it seems obvious that one of the two fairs has to show the flexibility to change to another period.

To solve the current dilemma we see three options:

Option 1)
Highlife BCN takes place in January 2007 as planned. Spannabis Barcelona organizes en February 2007 (the last weekend is reserved already for the Highlife in Amsterdam) and organizes the Expocannabis Madrid in October 2007. For the future, the two fairs would always be organised in the following way: Highlife Barcelona in January and Expocannabis Madrid (or Spannabis Barcelona) in October.

Option 2)
Highlife BCN takes place in January 2007 as planned. Spannabis Barcelona organizes en February 2007 and Highlife BCN organizes a second edition of its fair in 2007 in October/November. For the future, the two fairs would always be organised in the following way: Highlife Barcelona in October and Expocannabis Madrid (or Spannabis Barcelona) in February.

Option 3)
A third option is that you get together and find out an alternative solution. We would like to reiterate our willingness to moderate a physical meeting between you, that upon the invitation of Sergio Martinez could take place in Barcelona. Both Virginia Montañes and Joep Oomen vould be present. We inform you that this will not be possible before the week of 11 September, and that ENCOD has no resources to facilitate our travel costs.

We hope to have your comments to the three options. We are grateful if you could tell us which option has your preference, but also what are your objections to the third option.

As mediators, we need elements that can be used in the discussion. Therefore we would like to ask you to not completely refuse any option, but to indicate which are the necessary conditions under which you would be able to accept this option. In other words, give us the elements on which a negotiation and an agreement is possible.

Finally we would like to invite you to consider giving your collaboration with ENCOD to the organisation of an International Fair on forbidden plants in Vienna, Austria, in March 2008, during the UN summit on the international drug policy will take place in that city. ENCOD members will be able to guarantee an effective publicity and organisation of the event, but your practical experience will be indispensable for making this event a success.

Many thanks for your co-operation.

Best wishes,

On behalf of ENCOD,

Christine Kluge, Marina Impallomeni, Virginia Montañes, Farid Ghehioueche, Jan van der Tas, Joep Oomen (Steering Committee)

To the organisers of the Expocannabis Fair, Madrid and the Highlife Fair, Barcelona, Carlos Palomino and Sergio Martinez

Antwerpen, 22 August 2006

Dear Carlos and Sergio,

We have received your answers to our letter of 26 July, in which we asked you to do whatever is possible to coordinate your agendas and allow that the two planned fairs may take place on different dates.

We conclude that the bottom line in both your answers is that you both regret the current situation and share the desire that the two fairs can be organised in different dates, with a broad margin between both in order to avoid that unnecessary problems are caused. We believe that this is an excellent point of departure for a negotiation with the goal of ensuring that, in the future, the agendas are coordinated and two hemp fairs take place in Spain: one in the winter (January/February) and one in the autumn (October/November).

We would like to ask you to let us know if you would be willing to start this negotiation. If you wish, we can play a role in this, moderating a physical meeting (in Madrid or Barcelona) or through Internet. One of our tasks could be to prepare a concrete proposal in order to solve the current dilemma, in which both fairs are planned for the same dates, 19 to 21 January 2007. This proposal would necessarily include the modification of the dates of at least one of the fairs.

A possible solution to this dilemma could be found in the following scenario: one of the two fairs accepts to modify its dates, preferibly to October/November 2006, but in case this is technically impossible, to March 2007. As a compensation for this inconvenience, the organiser of this fair would have the right to organize the following edition of its fair in October/November 2007. The organiser of the other fair (that normally would take place in January 2007) would engage himself to organise the following edition in January/February 2008. From then on, the agenda of both fairs would be planned in a coordinated way according to the above mentioned description.

We hope, for the sake of the entire cannabis sector in Spain and Europe, that it will be possible for you to find a way to solve the conflict and we remind you of our willingness to contribute to this solution.

We also remind you of the fact that ENCOD depends entirely on the contributions of our members and donors, and that our situation continues to be difficult. Therefore we hope that in case a solution can be obtained to the conflict, and two fairs will be organised on different dates, you can give us the possibility to use the fairs to raise funds for our work. We would like to remind you of our offer to contribute actively to the informative programme that will be prepared during the events, (with themes, speakers and other elements) and in exchange receive some financial support for our organisation, that could be obtained from the entrance fees.

Looking forward to your response, best wishes,

On behalf of ENCOD,

Christine Kluge, Marina Impallomeni, Virginia Montañes, Farid Ghehioueche, Jan van der Tas, Joep Oomen (Steering Committee)

To the organisers of the Expocannabis Fair, Madrid and the Highlife Fair, Barcelona, Carlos Palomino and Boy Ramsahai

Antwerpen, 26 July 2006

Dear Carlos and Boy,

To our big surprise, we have noticed that the two fairs you are organising are planned for the same weekend: 19 to 21 January 2007.

We feel this puts us in a very difficult position. We would like to participate in both events, but do not have the capacity to do so. We do not wish to choose between one fair and the other. So we will need to cancel our participation to both, in order not to appear as a supporter of one against the other. We know several of our members (including Dutch Passion Seed Company and Grow In Berlin) are considering to do the same.

The hemp fairs are crucial to allow the European hemp/cannabis industry and the related movement to expand. We all try to achieve a common goal, which is the legal availability of cannabis for those who choose to use and those who need to use it.

Countering the current worldwide war on cannabis, we can’t afford to waste any occasion to show our will for change, but for this we need to also show mutual understanding and if possible a common strategy.

In the end, the survival of the fairs will depend on the prices and services they have to offer. If the two fairs in Spain take place on the same date, neither the industry nor the customers will benefit. Therefore we would like to request you to do whatever is possible to coordinate your agendas, and allow the two fairs to take place on different dates. That way, everyone will be engaged and motivated to participate in both.

Thank you very much for your attention and hope to hear from you.

Best wishes,

On behalf of ENCOD,

Christine Kluge, Marina Impallomeni, Virginia Montañes, Farid Ghehioueche, Jan van der Tas, Joep Oomen (Steering Committee)

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