The ICBC Is Going to Hawaii on Dec. 1-3

I’m excited to be attending and participating in my sixth International Cannabis Business Conference (ICBC), beginning this Friday, Dec. 1, on the Hawaiian island of Kaua’i. It’s not too late to register and book flights and hotel reservations at the Grand Hyatt Resort and Spa in Koloa. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime destination event for the cannabis crowd.
“I wanted a more intimate environment where really big players in the industry could come together to make serious connections,” Alex Rogers, the founder and director of all ICBC events as well as the Oregon Marijuana Business Conference, recently told Merry Jane. “Instead of events that are hurried, hectic and overwhelming, I wanted something chill and comfortable. I want to create a new level of cannabis industry networking.”
I met Alex back in the ’90s, when he was living in Europe and I was working for High Times. In those days, there was only one Cannabis Cup, originally founded by Steven Hager in Amsterdam in 1988. As a staffer, I got to attend and work at many of the Cups. That’s where I met Alex. He attended numerous times and did volunteer work.
He eventually returned to the U.S. (he’s from Minnesota) and moved to Oregon, where he founded Ashland Alternative Health. This led to the Oregon business conference and then the first ICBC in San Francisco in 2014.
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When Alex reached out to me about the ICBC, I suggested we create a “Celebrity Interview” that I would conduct. He liked the idea and that first year Stephen DeAngelo, the pig-tailed proprietor of Oakland’s Harborside Health Center, was the original interview.
For the 2015 ICBC in San Francisco, we were able to secure Tommy Chong. I created a scripted multimedia program that spanned the iconic comedian’s life and career with photos, and video and audio clips. Tommy was terrific, alternating between hilarity and profundity. It went so well that Alex booked us (“The Chong & Bloom Show”) for four of his next five events—in Eugene and Ashland, Ore.; Vancouver and Berlin. For the 2016 San Francisco ICBC, I interviewed former NBA star John Salley.
Going where no other cannabis event has gone before, Alex turned his attention to Kaua’i, the northernmost Hawaiian island, about 100 miles northwest of Oahu. Most flights to Kaua’i from the States stop in Honolulu. A change of planes is required to land in Lihue, Kaua’i’s main airport.
ICBC Kaua’i commences with a VIP reception on Dec. 1. Comedian Doug Benson, who I’ll be interviewing the next day, will be among the special guests. Well known in stoner circles for The Marijuana-logues, Super High Me, Doug Loves Movies, Get Doug With High and The High Court, Benson likes to call himself a “high comic” rather than a “pot comic, because I’m high, but I’m talking about a bunch of different things.” Presumably, he’ll be high for the interview.
The conference kicks off on Saturday, Dec. 2, with opening remarks by Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) speaking live via video from Washington, D.C. “For years, our outdated policies on marijuana have had a devastating impact on my home state of Hawai’i and across the country,” Rep. Gabbard told Marijuana Politics. “They’ve turned everyday Americans into criminals, torn families apart and wasted huge amounts of taxpayer dollars to arrest, prosecute and incarcerate people for nonviolent marijuana charges. In addition, the contradictions in state and federal law have created confusion and uncertainty for our local businesses.”
Other speakers will include Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (D-Ca.; also live via video), Hawaiian state Sen. Will Espero (D-Oahu), National Cannabis Industry Association director Aaron Smith, DJ Muggs of Cypress Hill and Ed Rosenthal, who will receive a Lifetime Achievement award on Dec. 3.
Like I said, there’s still time to register and make reservations to attend ICBC Kaua’i. Use this discount code: freedom
 
 
The post The ICBC Is Going to Hawaii on Dec. 1-3 appeared first on Freedom Leaf.

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