Adventures in the hemp trade

By the time Finn Murphy made an offer of $1.2 million for 36 acres of irrigated pasture land a few miles north of Boulder, he had already read that it was possible to earn $100,000 an acre growing and selling hemp, and he had learned that there were at least 49,991 different uses for the plant.

Through research, he had also learned what such a crop costs from seed to harvest, and he quickly formed a network of other growers he could turn to for advice. He decided to follow his Great American Dream and cash in on some of the easy money from the hemp boom.

Murphy bought the farm thinking "What could go wrong?" His new book, "Rocky Mountain High: A Tale of Boom and Bust in the New Wild West," delivers a hilarious answer. The book is a masterful tale of Murphy's misadventures.

A chronicle of Murphy's wild first year, "Rocky Mountain High" describes how he gradually loses his shirt, but not his spirit. Rather than grow the hemp himself, he decides to serve as a middleman. He builds drying sheds "the size of football fields." He battles freezing temperatures, bargains with callous bankers, and assembles what he calls "a scruffy army of 'trimmigrants'-'specialized farm laborers' who roam the country pursuing (or not) their own American Dreams."

Murphy will be talking about "Rocky Mountain High" at Inkberry Books in Niwot at 7:00 pm on Oct. 13. The presentation will be followed by a reception and book signing.