On Dec. 9 麻豆传媒映画will host the largest cannabis conference in Canada since the federal government, on Oct. 17, legalized recreational marijuana use.
Dozens of industry experts will speak on the O鈥機annabiz Conference and Expo鈥檚 many panels at the Parq Vancouver, during the event鈥檚 Dec. 9 through 11 run.
鈥淎s of Oct. 17, Health Canada has come out with a lot of new rules and regulations, and set the framework for what was to come,鈥� said Neill Dixon, who is president of the company that organizes O'Cannabiz, as well as conferences such as Canadian Music Week. "Consequently, there鈥檙e a lot of questions."
He estimated that about 2,000 people will pay the $499 fee to buy passes to attend the many panels. People who just want to wander around the exposition floor and visit booths can pay $30 per day, he said.
One keynote speaker will be former TV personality Montel Williams, who was later diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and found cannabis as a way to manage the disease.
Barinder Rasode,听the founder of the National Institute for Cannabis Health and Education and a conference panellist, praised conference organizers for including people such as Williams, who are well known outside the cannabis community.
鈥淪ometimes conferences are very focused and work in silos with people who have been in the industry for a long time,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he appeal of big names can get the attention of others.鈥�
Rasode said the O鈥機annabiz conferences, which tend to be held every six months or so and alternate between 麻豆传媒映画and Toronto, tend to have more international speakers than do some other large cannabis conferences.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a big focus this year on quality [and lab testing of cannabis,]鈥� said Rasode, who is on a Dec. 11 morning panel that will discuss mandatory lab testing, quality assurance and control.
鈥淎nybody who follows the cannabis industry will see that quality has become a pain point for the industry.鈥�
Indeed, Jamie Shaw, a partner at the cannabis consultancy Groundwork, to say that some legal cannabis that she acquired from BC Cannabis Stores was 鈥渢he absolute worst cannabis I have ever smoked in my life.鈥�
Shaw听described听some of the many sketchy places where she had previously acquired cannabis, such as 鈥渃annabis that I found on a public bus in Los Angeles,鈥� and 鈥渃annabis in Las Vegas that looked like it had been smuggled up from Mexico in a book in the 鈥�60s鈥� 鈥� places that she said she would have thought would have provided worse cannabis than what is on offer from the B.C. government's online store.
Shaw will speak on an afternoon panel on Dec. 10 called, 鈥溾�楧ude, where鈥檚 my car?鈥� 鈥� Cannabis and the law on impaired driving.鈥�
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