Recap 2020
Wow – what a year! In a way, it’s impossible to try and put it into words. COVID-19 wiped out many plans and dreams, had huge economic consequences, but most of all was a massive threat to our health. But maybe the pandemic also gave some of us a chance to pause, reflect about who and what is important and our life’s focus. Relaxation and deceleration quickly became very important – which brought special attention to our favourite topic of CBD.
To state it plainly: you gave us a fantastic year. You supported us, became – or remained – fans of Tom Hemp’s and as a large community you helped place togetherness at the centre of this special time. For us at Tom Hemp’s it was an exciting year of reaching many milestones that we’d been working towards: the frontrunner being the relaunch of our website with a shop in a whole new look.
Of course, you couldn’t see what it looked like behind the scenes, but let us tell you: it was a lot of work. Different ideas and approaches here, implementation there and optimization over and over. It took us a while until we were finally online, but then it was all the more special. We are especially proud and happy that you love the new look so much!
Tom Hemp’s also grew in 2020
New faces in the team, many great new products in our portfolio and – lest we forget – a new store in Spain, or in Palma de Mallorca, to be precise. A big store opening wasn’t possible due to Corona, but we were still very happy about the new addition.
Hey, we almost forgot: there was one more thing!
Tom Hemp’s Beauty expanded a lot and became a part of the Zalando Beauty Portfolio in the summer. Another big step towards CBD’s acceptance into society.
Because sadly, this is still a big topic
Despite CBD’s positive effects, the compound gained from hemp plants is still often associated with an addictive intoxicant. Sure, THC and CBD both originate from the hemp plant. But that’s as far as the similarities between the two substances go. CBD is proved to be non-psychoactive, but again and again is associated with an intoxicating effect.
Even though even the WHO found in an extensive study in 2018 that CBD “shows no signs of a potential misuse or addictive qualities.” In November 2020 the European Court of Justice clearly judged: products with the cannabis-substance CBD are not narcotics. This led to a ban in France being tilted, for example.
No negative effects – but the exact opposite: CBD can relieve problems sleeping, pain and stress burdens, helps body and mind to relax and holds a whole array of positive effects. And positive news and effects are definitely what we all needed this year.
The reason for this suspicion and repeated categorization of CBD as an intoxicant is also and especially the dominant political stance in our cosmos. Still now as a CBD producer and business we’re in a legal grey zone, even though CBD is legal with a maximum THC-concentration of 0,2%. We had to find out what this means for us in the end of this year: with a disproportionate raid with questionable legal grounds, we were put into the corner of illegality – without warrant.
In November the police confiscated goods worth 50,000 Euro, during the raid employees were treated like high criminals and police ignored the fact that Tom Hemp’s follows legal requirements exactly, as well as creating jobs in a professional context and paying the state a healthy dose worth of tax payments. And that wasn’t the first raid this year. Already in May, three raids of this kind had taken place at Tom Hemp’s.
We are sad and sometimes a bit frustrated about the scale of ignorance. But still we don’t want to end the year on a bad note: it was a tough and exceptional year for us all, for the whole world. But it was also a year that gave us hope. We reached many great milestones, grew with you, and pushed our vision and mission forward. And of course that’s also the plan for 2021.
On this note: we wish you wonderful holidays, stay healthy and protect yourselves. And have a great transition from the crazy year into 2021. And don’t forget: CBD is our obsession. Let it be yours too.
