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Banking Association CEO Makes A Big Prediction About Cannabis Banking Bill

Written by Johnny Green on . Posted in Business.

Lack of access to the nation’s financial system has been an ongoing issue for the cannabis industry for many years. The issue is not as big as it once was, and friendly credit unions have been helping fill the void, however, cannabis banking reform is still greatly needed.

The emerging cannabis industry will never reach its full potential if comprehensive banking reform at the federal level remains elusive. Cannabis advocates were hopeful that banking reform would have been passed by Congress by now, but unfortunately, it hasn’t happened yet.

The CEO of the American Bankers Association (ABA) provided new hope for banking reform recently when he made a significant prediction during an interview about the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act, as reported by Marijuana Moment:

“This is legislation that already passed in the House Financial Services Committee early in this calendar year by a huge bipartisan margin, and this is something that I predict…as early as September—probably no later than than October—will pass the full House of Representatives by a bipartisan majority, which is exciting,” he said.

It is somewhat puzzling that the House of Representatives has thus far failed to pass this sensible measure. The cannabis industry is a multi-billion dollar industry and requiring it to be largely based on a cash-only model creates logistical nightmares for cannabis companies and potential public safety issues for society.

SAFE Banking Act has strong bipartisan support, so hopefully the House passes it soon and the Senate does the same quickly thereafter. Large piles of cash are an obvious target for robbers and thieves.

Anyone in the area of a robbery attempt has their personal safety involuntarily put at risk, and because of that banking reform for the cannabis industry is something that everyone should support, regardless of if they are in the cannabis industry or not.

Many cannabis consumers and cannabis companies would prefer to make cash-less transactions rather than all-cash transactions. A banking system is already in place. It shouldn’t be this difficult and Congress needs to get it in gear.

We will be discussing cannabis banking reform and a number of other important topics at our upcoming event in Vancouver, British Columbia September 15-16. A limited number of tickets are still available. Grab yours before they run out!

About the International Cannabis Business Conference

International Cannabis Business Conference events are the premier cannabis events for entrepreneurs across the globe. With events in Canada, the United States, Switzerland, Spain, and Germany the International Cannabis Business Conference is where the world meets cannabis. Find out more at InternationalCBC.com and on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

How Clean Is The Cannabis Industry?

Written by ICBC Staff on . Posted in Business.

By Marguerite Arnold

As the CannTrust scandal continues to reverberate around Europe, a question is clearly in the room this fall – is this problem just isolated in one country in Europe (Denmark) or is it more widespread?

Specifically, in a mostly import driven business, has Germany, the largest medical cannabis market in the world right now, dodged this bullet?

The answer? Probably not.

The question right is, of course, why not?

GMP Is Still Bein Implemented In The Industry

The production standard for the cannabis industry that is evolving out of the medically focused industry in Europe is called ‘GMP.’ It is a pharmaceutical standard, used far beyond cannabis, that is supposed to set best practices for the cleanliness of the pharmaceutical industry. GMP is the highest and most expensive standard. It requires that production centers are hygienically and biologically “clean.” But it does not stop there.

One of the most common misperceptions on the production end is that the production environment of crops does not have to be EU GMP compliant at the time of growth. Many producers, for example in Canada, still believe that using domestic pesticide-free “green” production is good enough to meet EU-GMP if it is taken to a processing plant.

That is a very expensive mistake to make, and in many cases requires retooling to fix. But even beyond the production and processing of the product, the entire supply chain must be up to snuff, including product packaging and employee backgrounds.

In part what also seems to be happening across Europe is that GMP cert was required by July – namely the date of full implementation of the large pharma trade deal between the US and Europe. However, some companies clearly did not meet the July deadline.

There are also other factors. Widespread misadvice about compliance measures required in both Europe and Germany is widespread.

This issue is not just limited to the medical industry. Novel Food, which so far is only hitting the CBD market, is also a licensing discussion in the room and has so far likely committed violations not only on the product side but also on the labeling front as well.

Who Rings The Alarm Bells?

The CannTrust debacle proves one thing clearly, that the best regulatory structure in the world does not work if the industry itself (including employees) does not comply. In a world where the product itself is still rare and hard to find, this creates disincentives for distributors to report producers.

This is especially true in foreign markets, and even more so in a country like Germany. The regulatory framework is not only present and high in foreign markets, but interaction and communication between federal and state agencies are also difficult to penetrate, particularly for foreigners which are still the majority of those who work in the vertical.

In other words, who sounds the alarm is a fragmented answer, and often impacted by business decisions far beyond consumer safety.

About the International Cannabis Business Conference

International Cannabis Business Conference events are the premier cannabis events for entrepreneurs across the globe. With events in Canada, the United States, Switzerland, Spain, and Germany the International Cannabis Business Conference is where the world meets cannabis. Find out more at InternationalCBC.com and on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

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Hemp Acres Licensed To Grow In The U.S. More Than Quadrupled This Year

Written by Johnny Green on . Posted in Business.

Hemp is making a comeback in the United States in a major way. Favorable reform provisions in the 2014 Farm Bill paved the way for farmers in a number of states to take advantage of research and pilot programs. Since that time the U.S. hemp cultivation industry has grown exponentially, as demonstrated by statistics.

In 2016 U.S. farmers grew 9,770 acres of hemp. By 2017 that number increased to 25,713 acres of hemp. Some hemp opponents claimed at the time that the dramatic year-over-year increase was due to states just starting their programs and that growth would level off quickly. Time has proven those naysayers to be completely wrong.

Farmers in the United States grew an astonishing 78,176 acres of hemp in 2018 – more than triple the number of acres from the previous year. The 2018 Farm Bill included significant reforms specifically for hemp farmers.

Hemp industry observers have been waiting to see statistics for 2019’s licenses to see what impact the 2018 Farm Bill would have. According to a recently released report, the U.S. hemp industry is growing faster than ever. Per Vote Hemp:

Since the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, hemp cultivation in the U.S. has grown rapidly. The number of acres of hemp licensed across 34 states totaled 511,442 in 2019—more than quadruple the number of acres licensed from the previous year. State licenses to cultivate hemp were issued to 16,877 farmers and researchers, a 476% increase over 2018.

The hemp plant would have likely been a popular crop for U.S. farmers to cultivate regardless of CBD because of the hemp plant’s versatility. However, the explosion in CBD’s popularity in recent years among consumers has definitely contributed to the exponential growth of hemp cultivation in the United States.

It’s worth noting that just because acreage is licensed to cultivate hemp by a state’s Agriculture Department does not mean that the acreage will successfully produce a harvest and make it to the marketplace. A number of factors could prevent the harvest from occurring.

However, no one can deny that the hemp industry in the United States is experiencing significant growth and that there’s no end to that growth in sight currently. It will be very interesting to see what acreage numbers look like a year from now, five years from now, and beyond.

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About the International Cannabis Business Conference

International Cannabis Business Conference events are the premier cannabis events for entrepreneurs across the globe. With events in Canada, the United States, Switzerland, Spain, and Germany the International Cannabis Business Conference is where the world meets cannabis. Find out more at InternationalCBC.com and on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

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Will Colombia Dominate The Legal Cannabis Export Market In The Future?

Written by Johnny Green on . Posted in Business.

The South American nation of Colombia has been a major exporter of cannabis for many decades, albeit in an illegal fashion. The country is more commonly associated with the illicit cocaine industry, however, Colombia has also long been home to a vibrant cannabis cultivation community.

Colombia is now poised to be a major legal exporter of cannabis to countries around the world due to a number of reasons, not the least of which is its climate which is ideal for cultivating cannabis. Per NPR:

Colombia sits near the equator, giving it 12 hours of daily sunlight year-round. By contrast, countries with seasonal variations require the extensive use of artificial lights, which drives up production costs.

As an emerging venture it’s unclear how the medical marijuana business will play out. For example, it remains illegal to import marijuana-based products into the United States. Due to government bureaucracy in Colombia, it can take months or years for startups to secure the proper permits and licenses.

Yet the uncertainty hasn’t stopped companies from betting big on cannabis.

Land and labor are cheap in Colombia compared to other countries that permit the legal production of cannabis. That, combined with the country’s ideal cultivation conditions, makes the nation the perfect place to cultivate an enormous amount of cannabis that can be supplied to other countries around the world.

To get an idea of where Colombia will likely rank in the global cannabis industry in the future, consider the fact that sungrown cannabis can be cultivated at a cost of roughly $7 per pound in Colombia. Virtually no other nation can match that cost of production, especially at a quality level that matches Colombian cannabis.

Colombia is still dealing with a large amount of stigma due to the drug war, and while a lot of that is born out of Colombia’s cocaine trade, the country’s cannabis industry gets caught in the crossfire. That, in turn, makes Colombian lawmakers and regulators hesitant to open up the industry in a more significant fashion.

However, as time goes by Colombia’s leadership will no doubt see the global demand for legal cannabis increasing, the stigma surrounding the cannabis plant diminishing, and will recognize that Colombia is uniquely positioned to take advantage of the opportunities in the global cannabis market.

When that happens Colombia may very well become the top cannabis exporting nation on the planet.

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About the International Cannabis Business Conference

International Cannabis Business Conference events are the premier cannabis events for entrepreneurs across the globe. With events in Canada, the United States, Switzerland, Spain, and Germany the International Cannabis Business Conference is where the world meets cannabis. Find out more at InternationalCBC.com and on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

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The Cannabis Market In Europe – A Trade Game That Disadvantages Patients?

Written by ICBC Staff on . Posted in Medical.

By Marguerite Arnold

About a month before international cannabis company Tilray announced that it was shipping from Portugal to Germany, Sativex (manufactured by the British-based GW Pharma) was approved for use by the Portuguese government. This means that the actual cost of the drug, deemed too expensive by the NHS in the UK, will be partially underwritten by the Portuguese government.

Portuguese patients with MS will now face expenses of about $350 per spray bottle. To put this into real patient (if not grey market) terms, that’s about the cost of an ounce in the U.S. and about half the cost of the same amount in the unregulated market across Europe.

Most patients use more than 1-2 spray bottles of Sativex per month.

With Tilray now exporting to Germany, this poses an interesting question. Why was the Portuguese government subsidizing a British company to import cannabinoid-based drugs right before a Canadian company with domestic production announces that its latest crop is slated for export? Especially as Tilray’s campus is capable of producing products at a high enough standard to be accepted by the German government?

Why didn’t the Portuguese government just buy the product locally?

Part of the answer lies in what was just approved. The Portuguese government, for all of its supposed freewheeling drug policy, is unwilling to admit that medical cannabis works on MS or any other condition, in any other form than a pharmaceutical spray. And furthermore, that non-pharmaceutical spray also works for MS patients, sometimes better than their own branded entry.

Tilray’s product, in other words, grown in Portugal, is not on the docket to be reimbursed by the government on the consumption side. So the company looked for a market where it would be. This is no different than what has happened in Holland since early 2017.

Part of this conundrum is also caused by the fact that cannabis companies are desperately trying to find justification for pharmacizing their products. This is inevitable in a world where “strains,” the great hope of breeders if not the larger companies everywhere, are bound for obscurity, especially in Europe.

While this creates a better justification on corporate bottom lines, what it is also doing is driving local production out or setting a bar too high for most to participate, just as there is a local population to supply. It is also increasing the overall costs of cannabinoid medical access to European governments – both in the home and exporting countries.

Companies Are Seeking Higher Market Returns

Because of this, patients are still faced with the unappetizing process of applying for the drug through a regional health service and finding that it is still usually cheaper and more accessible to skip the pain and go back to the unregulated market.

In turn, this also has a political effect. With legislatures across the continent wrestling with greater medical access and cost issues as well as the option of just ditching the entire debate and pushing patients into a recreational space (see Holland), the concept of cannabis as a reimbursable drug becomes laden with an additional layer of socioeconomic angst attached to all discussions over healthcare in the room right now.

The bottom line? 2019 might well be the year in which the tide turns and European governments, recognizing that cannabinoids are not going away, will push for more domestic production and sovereign ownership. Especially now, with the recreational discussion on the table thanks to Luxembourg.

What that means for medical reimbursement, however, if not cost control beyond that is still unclear, and that will likely be the case for several years to come.

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About the International Cannabis Business Conference

International Cannabis Business Conference events are the premier cannabis events for entrepreneurs across the globe. With events in Canada, the United States, Switzerland, Spain, and Germany the International Cannabis Business Conference is where the world meets cannabis. Find out more at InternationalCBC.com and on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

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Canadian Attorney Is Preparing A Court Challenge Against Incoming Rules For Cannabis Edibles, Extracts, And Topicals

Written by Johnny Green on . Posted in Business, Medical.

In June, Canadian cannabis industry regulators published their final rules regarding THC limits for cannabis edibles, extracts, and topicals. The rules, which are set to take effect in October, leave a lot to be desired. That is especially true for cannabis edibles, which have a limit of 10 mg of THC per package.

To put that number into perspective, the state of Oregon permits 50 mg of THC per edible package for adult-use cannabis products, and 100 mg of THC per edible package for medical cannabis products.

Prominent Canadian attorney John Conroy is reported to be preparing a court challenge to the new rules, as first reported by Georgia Straight:

In a phone interview with the Georgia Straight, John Conroy said the looming limits of 10 milligrams of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) per package of edible cannabis, 10 milligrams of THC per unit of cannabis extracts, and one gram per package of cannabis extracts fall far short of what’s required by some medicinal users.

The prospective case involves an unnamed mother of a young child who requires high-end extracts to treat multiple seizures.

“You’ve got kids with significant medical issues whose parents have got them medically approved for high-end concentrate extracts—and they still won’t be able to get them legally,” Conroy said. “So the government is once again failing to prevent the violation of the constitutional rights of medically approved patients.”

From the very beginning of the legal cannabis industry launching in Canada, and many parts of the United States, cannabis opponents and regulators have made a huge push to limit the amount of THC that a consumer or patient can purchase.

A lower THC limit may be fine for new cannabis consumers that have a low tolerance, however, for even semi-regular cannabis users a 10 mg THC limit is unreasonably low, and as John Conroy points out in the linked-to article, it can be devastating for patients.

Incoming Canadian rules and going to be covered in depth at our upcoming International Cannabis Business Conference in Vancouver, B.C. September 15-16. John Conroy is a scheduled speaker and you will not want to miss out on hearing what he has to say.

Canada’s cannabis industry is at a critical juncture with a lot of moving parts and a shifting landscape. Join us in Vancouver later this month to learn about the vital, timely information that you need to know!

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About the International Cannabis Business Conference

International Cannabis Business Conference events are the premier cannabis events for entrepreneurs across the globe. With events in Canada, the United States, Switzerland, Spain, and Germany the International Cannabis Business Conference is where the world meets cannabis. Find out more at InternationalCBC.com and on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

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Tilray’s Portuguese Facility Ships To Germany

Written by ICBC Staff on . Posted in Business.

By Marguerite Arnold

In one of the more intriguing cross-European canna developments this summer, Tilray announced its first cross-European shipment. The shipment was estimated to be worth more than $3 million and shipped from Portugal to Germany in late August. The German distributor that Tilray is working with is also of note – Cannamedical, the second indie distributor to get an import license (after MedCann GmbH now Spektrum/Canopy).

The announcement comes at an interesting time.

Tilray’s Portuguese plans were announced during the summer of 2017 when the focus on entering the German market was via the cultivation bid process. Tilray was the first company to more or less publically throw in the towel, in other words, as the first news of lawsuits began to trickle out.

The Impact of Warmer Climates And Less Regulation

Tilray is not the first, much less the only, large Canadian cannabis company to essentially plan to outsource EU production somewhere in the region. All of the largest players in the market have established either production sites or partnered with domestic producers to do so in countries around the continent. Spain, Poland, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Greece, Italy, and Macedonia are all in various stages of cultivation, production, and/or extraction.

However, the Portugal play is intriguing on a number of fronts, starting with sovereign drug policy. That is unlikely to be duplicated anywhere else in Europe. However, it places the company in a strategic position to ship product not only to the EU (starting with Germany) but also the UK.

The demands of these two markets will absolutely drive the economics of the industry for the next decade, regardless of niche plays that may be perceived to be sexier, such as Luxembourg, Switzerland, and Greece.

That means no matter how “unregulated” the overall local attitudes are when it comes to cultivation, processing, and production, export markets are highly regulated. Cost control, starting with labor, but also other matters from packaging and labeling to supply chain issues beyond this, are in the room and are unlikely to leave it.

The most recent contretemps over CannTrust in Denmark, including calls for better regulations, also seem to indicate that the writing is on the wall in terms of where the industry is headed.

Ultimately, of course, beyond issues of production cost, there are also bigger problems afoot, starting with the slow acceptance of medical efficacy which will ultimately drive sales. The only solution for that is medical trials, regardless of how exciting the news of recreational reform is in Luxembourg.

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About the International Cannabis Business Conference

International Cannabis Business Conference events are the premier cannabis events for entrepreneurs across the globe. With events in Canada, the United States, Switzerland, Spain, and Germany the International Cannabis Business Conference is where the world meets cannabis. Find out more at InternationalCBC.com and on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

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The International Cannabis Business Conference Is Coming Back To Vancouver, B.C. September 15-16

Written by ICBC Staff on . Posted in Vancouver.

The International Cannabis Business Conference is bringing its unparalleled combination of cannabis industry, policy, advocacy, and networking back to beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia later this month.

A VIP reception on September 15th, hosted by NextLeaf, will kick off the networking at the International Cannabis Business Conference in Vancouver, as speakers, sponsors, and attendees gather at the Westin Bayshore Hotel. This will be a stellar opportunity for attendees to make connections with cannabis entrepreneurs and policymakers from all over the globe.

Lori Ajax, the first and only Chief of the California Bureau of Cannabis Control, will provide a keynote interview on September 16th. Lori Ajax literally has the biggest cannabis regulatory job on the planet. This is the first time that Chief Ajax will be speaking about cannabis regulations at a conference outside of the U.S. and it is sure to be very informative.

“I’m excited to be able to participate in the upcoming International Cannabis Business Conference. It’s been great to be a part of the California event for the past few years, and I’m really looking forward to learning more about Canada’s legal cannabis market and see if there are lessons to be learned for California’s cannabis industry.” Ajax said.

Ajax will be joined by 4-time NBA Champion John Salley who will also be speaking at the event. In order to be successful in the increasingly-crowded cannabis space entrepreneurs have to be creative, flexible, adaptable, and versatile. John Salley possesses all of those attributes and has been successfully putting them to work for decades, which is why the International Cannabis Business Conference is honored to have him as a guest speaker.

Additional conference topics will include:

  • Canadian cannabis regulations and policy
  • Regulatory models for edibles, topicals, and extracts
  • Mergers and acquisitions
  • Vetting investments with an eye on emerging international markets
  • Craft cannabis
  • Cannabis exports
  • Extraction science and technology
  • Strategic partnerships

Following the conference curriculum, the exclusive after-party, sponsored by Bhang and Indiva, will take place on a Pacific Yachts 105-foot, three-level luxury vessel. The yacht party will be DJ’d by the legend himself – DJ Muggs from Cypress Hill! Join us this September 15-16 for an industry event like no other.

Tickets can be purchased at: https://internationalcbc.com/buy-tickets

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About the International Cannabis Business Conference

International Cannabis Business Conference events are the premier cannabis events for entrepreneurs across the globe. With events in Canada, the United States, Switzerland, Spain, and Germany the International Cannabis Business Conference is where the world meets cannabis. Find out more at InternationalCBC.com and on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

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An Estimated 1,000 Global Cannabis Industry Senior Decision Makers To Take Part In CannX Tel Aviv 2019 Conference

Written by ICBC Staff on . Posted in Medical.

The International Cannabis Business Conference would like to encourage international cannabis entrepreneurs and cannabis enthusiasts to check out the upcoming International Medical Cannabis Conference (CannX). Below is more information about the event:

The international medical cannabis conference focusing on business, technology and agriculture will take place for the fourth year in a row on September 9-10.

The conference will include a politics session focusing on the issue of medical cannabis and the upcoming election campaign.

Conference speakers will include:

  • CannX Chairman Prof. Raphael Mechoulam, THC Cannabinoid Trailblazer and Israel Prize Recipient
  • Kevin Roland, Director, Canopy Growth Corporation, Canada
  • Philippe Lucas, VP, Global Patient Research & Access, Tilray, Canada
  • Jonathan Page, Chief Science Officer, Aurora Cannabis Inc., Canada
  • Steve Hawkins, President and CEO of Horizons ETFs,Canada
  • Ziva Eger, Chief Executive of Foreign Investments & Industrial Co-operation, Israel
  • Minister of Agriculture Uri Ariel
  • Prof. Arnon Afek, Acting Chief Physician, Israeli Medical Cannabis Agency, Ministry of Health and former Director General of the Ministry of Health
  • Itai Malchior, Head of the Inter-Ministerial Committee for the Export of Medicinal Cannabis, Foreign Trade Administration, Ministry of Economy & Industry

The 4th International Medical Cannabis Conference (CannX) will take place on 9-10 September at the Expo Tel Aviv venue. The CannX experience has been refined to offer some of the most effective networking in the business and access to key opinion leaders. An estimated 1,000 senior decision makers from the entire global cannabis industry value chain are expected to participate in the international conference. Among them entrepreneurs, investors, growers, physicians, researchers, senior decision makers in medical cannabis companies, pharmacists and patients.

The conference will take place for the 4th consecutive year in partnership with Cann10, which manufactures and markets medical cannabis products and technologies and Kenes, a professional conference organizer.

CannX is the only medical cannabis conference which is accredited as a scientific conference by the European Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (EACCME). This year, attendees at CannX will enjoy a more dynamic and interactive program – allowing them to participate directly in debates and discussions.

Within the main conference topics:

September 9 (Monday):

10:00 OPENING SESSION’ Uri Ariel, Minister of Agriculture

10:15 OPENING SESSION, Yossi Bornstein, Founder, Partner and Owner, Cann10, Founder, Shizim Group, Biomed holding group.

10:30 KEYNOTE LECTURE: THE CANNABINOID SYSTEM: WHERE DO WE STAND TODAY? Prof. Raphael Mechoulam, CannX Chairman, THC Cannabinoid Trailblazer and Israel Prize Recipient

11:30 SESSION: CANNABIS AND THE OPIOD EPIDEMIC, Chair: Elyad Davidson, Director, Pain Relief Unit at Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center, Israel; David Casarett, Prof. Chief of Palliative Care, Duke University, USA; Philippe Lucas, VP of Patient Research and Access, Tilray, Canada

12:20 SESSION: THE ISRAEL MODEL: A SMALL COUNTRY, A LEADING INDUSTRY, Chair: Kobi Caspi, Co-founder and CFO, Cann10, Israel, Karina Rubinstein, Director of Business Development, Start Up Division at Israel Innovation Authority, Israel; Ziva Eger, Chief Executive of Foreign Investments & Industrial Cooperation; Amir Goldstein, Chief Operations
Officer, IMC, Israel; Tal Ben David, Head Pharmacist, GreenPharma, Israel; Liron Goldshtein, Head, Cannabis Pharmacy Dept., GreenPharma, Israel

12:20 SESSION: CANNABIS GENETICS – NEW DEVELOPMENTS, Chair: Shay Avraham Sarid, Co-Founder & CTO, Seach Medical Cannabis Group, Israel; Jonathan Page, Chief Scientist, Aurora Cannabis Inc., Canada; Arnon Heyman, CEO, Canonic Ltd., Israel

14:30 SESSION: THE IMPACT OF CANNABIS-BASED TREATMENT ON VARIOUS DISEASES – PRE-CLINICAL AND CLINICAL RESULTS, Chair: Reuven Or, Prof MD Cancer Immunotherapy & Immunobiology Research Center, Hadassah University Hospital, Israel; Yossi Tam (ENDOCANNABINOID SYSTEM IN HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY); Gurmit Singh (CBDA-ME AND PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHIC PAIN); Ruth Djaldetti (CANNABIS AND PARKINSON); Vered Hermush (DEMENTIA AND CANNABIS); Avi Priel (PAIN AND IONOTROPIC CANNABINOIDS RECEPTORS); Reuven Or and Osnat Almogi-Hazan (CANNABIS IN
CANCER)

14:30 SESSION: DIGITAL HEALTH AND CANNABIS – IS THE FUTURE HERE? BIG DATA, PREDICTION, AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, Chair: Gali Weinreb, Editor and Biomed correspondent, Globes, Israel; Itzhak Kurek, CEO and Co-Founder, Cannformatics Inc., USA; David Berg, President and CTO, Strainprint Technologies Ltd., Canada; Avihu Tamir, CEO, Kanabo Research, Israel

September 10 (Tuesday):

10:00 SESSION: ENTERING THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY – HOW TO MEET PHARMA STANDARDS IN CANNABIS BASED PRODUCTS, Arnon Afek, Associate Director General, Sheba Medical Center, Acting Chief Physician, Israeli Medical Cannabis Agency, Ministry of Health, Israel; Kevin Roland, Director, CMC (Chemical Manufacturing Controls), Canopy Health Innovation, Canopy Growth Corporation, Canada; Patrick Schmitt, Molecular biologist, Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer, Farmako, Germany; Ianiv Eisenscher, Chief Product Officer, Syqe Medical, Israel; Orna Dreazen, CEO and Chairperson of the Board of Directors, Nextar Chempharma Solutions Ltd., Israel

12:00 DECISION-MAKERS PANEL – THE POLITICAL ANGLE OF THE MEDICAL CANNABIS FIELD; Moderator: Dafna Liel, Channel 12 Knesset Correspondent, Politician panelists participating will be disclosed later on.

14:00 SESSION: GLOBAL TRADE: OVERCOMING IMPORT-EXPORT BARRIERS IN A CONSTANTLY CHANGING REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT, Moderator: Lior Kenan, Chanel 13 Economics Correspondent, Israel; Itai Melchior, Senior Project Manager at Foreign Trade Administration – Ministry of Economy and Industry, Israel; Elizabeth Hatchuel, Adjunct Professor, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

16:00 SESSION: THE MEDICAL CANNABIS CAPITAL MARKET – AN ECONOMIC BUBBLE OR THE REAL THING? Moderator: Sophie Shulman, Capital Markets Editor, Calcalist, Israel, Steve Hawkins, President and CEO, Horizons ETFs, Canada; Shiry Eden, Founder and CEO, Nishot, Israel; Brenda Smith, CEO & Founder, CB Capital Concierge, Inc., USA; Ilan Gerzi, Adv., Senior Partner and Head of the Capital Markets Department, Pearl Cohen, Israel

 

Ori Alperovitz, Cann10 CEO: “In the past decade, medical cannabis has gone through a dramatic image shift, from a dangerous drug to a legitimate plant with unique medical qualities which have yet to be fully exposed. Every year, the CannX conference draws hundreds of senior decision makers from the entire global cannabis industry value chain, who are thirsty for sources of knowledge and new investment channels within this field, to Israel.

A young and constantly evolving field, the global cannabis industry is going through frequent changes due to changing regulatory policies and scientific breakthroughs created by the medical community. Our Cann10 accelerator is always on the lookout for smart, personalized cannabis technologies spearheading the innovative cannabis arena worldwide.

Cann10 Background:

Cann10 is an international company for development and marketing of medical cannabis products and innovative technological entrepreneurship within this field. Cann10 owns and distributes the “Cannareet” brand sold in Israeli pharmacies within the new medical cannabis regulations (30% market share). Among company activities in Israel and abroad: development and promotion of medical cannabis startups within the CannXL accelerator; management of a medical cannabis entrepreneurship course in collaboration with the Technion (Israel Institute of Technology); entrepreneurship and management of scientific, technological and business conferences within the medical cannabis field in Israel and other parts of the world; partnership in factory and breeding farm establishment in a number of countries.