ICBC Kicks Off the 2019 Program in San Francisco

The San Francisco leg of the fifth annual International Cannabis Business Conference is set to kick off its two-day run on Thursday at the Hilton Union Square. ICBC San Francisco attendees can expect a thorough discussion of all things cannabis, from policy to technology to industry ins and outs.

The ICBC San Francisco, which is slated to land in Barcelona, Berlin, Zurich and Vancouver in upcoming months, will feature a moderated talk from California’s “Cannabis Czar” Lori Ajax. In her capacity as the Bureau of Cannabis Control Chief, Ajax will be reviewing the state’s first year of legalization, discussing plans for the future of the industry and even taking questions from audience members, as well as from Leafly’s California editor, David Downs

Ajax presumably expects to tackle some thorny topics that have yet to be resolved in California post-legalization, including outsized taxes and convoluted regulations that have already choked out smaller farmers or driven producers back to the black market.

The conference will also feature panels that are less region-specific, but still politically motived. These talks will be on topics like “Cannabis and the Feds,” with Cannabis Trade Federation CEO Neal Levine. During “Cannabis and the Feds,” panelists are set to dissect the state of federal legalization, from the Trump-supported STATES Act to proposals like HR 420, and talk future progress on a national scale.

And the advent of legislation like the 2018 Farm Bill clearly influenced at least one of ICBC San Francisco’s panels: “Mainstreaming of CBD,” which will doubtless involve discussion of what the cannabinoid’s place in the cannabis industry is, now that hemp — and, by proxy, hemp-based CBD — is fully legal in all 50 states.

Other panels at the conference spotlight more traditional, business-oriented topics, such as “Investment and the Capital Markets,” “Going Public,” “International Investing,” “International Markets,” “Distribution,” “Industry Disruptors,” and “Strategic Partnerships.” Additionally, a panel on “Cannabis and Tech” should prove interesting, as the intersection between the two fields grows with stateside legalization.

The ICBC San Francisco will also feature more speakers from a range of backgrounds, from the business world to the realm of activism, to ensure that all angles of the cannabis industry are approached and examined.

Speakers include Debby Goldsberry of Magnolia Wellness and Hi Fidelity, Multiverse’s Nic Easly, California Cannabis Industry Association’s Lindsay Robinson, Scott Van Rixel and Jamie Pearson of Bhang, Meadow CEO David Hua, bud.com’s Justin Hall and Groundwork Consulting’s Jamie Shaw, to name a few.

Ultimately, in the wake of a huge year for cannabis policy both domestic and global, these conversations feel especially timely and vital to the overall survival of the cannabis legalization movement and the future success of the industry itself.

It appears that the foundations of a worldwide legal cannabis trade are being laid now, which makes it more important than ever that those shaping the industry meet, discuss and educate one another on the kind business we want cannabis to become — and events like the ICBC San Francisco are the ideal forum for such dialogue.

For tickets and more information, visit ICBC’s website.

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