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Cannabis Industry Experts Gather in San Francisco

A short preview of the International Cannabis Business Conference in San Francisco this weekend.

Leading cannabis industry professionals, politicians and cultural leaders are gathering February 13 and 14 at the Hyatt Regency in San Francisco for the International Cannabis Business Conference (ICBC).

I thought I’d take a moment to congratulate our friends at the conference for putting together another industry-leading lineup of experts, business leaders and cultural icons, including Andrew Sullivan and Tommy Chong, and recognize some of the great things occurring at the event this weekend.

Bipartisan Politics.


One of the more interesting panels this weekend features conservative California Congressman Dana Rohrabacher and liberal Oregon Congressman Earl Blumenauer. The two are coming together for a panel to discuss the bipartisan effort to end cannabis prohibition in America. The panel will be lead by Anthony Johnson, the Content Director of the conference and the Chief Petitioner of the successful Measure 91 in Oregon. While the panel is likely to discuss the complex decisions and considerations regarding California’s legalization movement, the recent raids on cannabis businesses in San Diego may spur additional conversation about compliance with current regulations and law.

earl blumenauer cannabis

Other political leaders at ICBC include former U.S. Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders and California Assembly Member Rob Bonta. For a full list of speakers, click here.

Super Bowl.

Just how big is the cannabis industry in California? A new report coming from the ARC View Group estimates that the current California marketplace is worth $1.5 billion. With San Francisco’s physical location to the state’s prime growing region, the ICBC’s well-managed networking component is ideal for cannapreneurs and small business owners.

A report produced last week estimates that Colorado’s marijuana industry is currently worth $1 billion. Combined with Oregon, Washington and Alaska it’s easy to recognize that now is the ideal time to get in on the ground floor of this industry.

For more numbers on the size of the cannabis industry, check out this piece from The Huffington Post.

International Cannabis Business.

Earlier this week, the ICBC announced that versus bringing leading international industry experts to their conferences in the United States, the ICBC will be expanding to international locales later this year including Vancouver, BC and Europe. Conference organizer Alex Rogers says he believes Berlin, and Germany specifically, are at a tipping point with regards to cannabis law reform.

For more on the International Cannabis Business Conference, visit their website at: internationalcbc.com