The German cannabis patient community has grown by leaps and bounds since the program was approved a few years ago and the International Cannabis Business Conference is so pleased to have witness the growth firsthand, holding our first annual conference in Berlin just after medical legislation was approved. Despite a lot of bureaucratic red tape…

The international cannabis industry is getting more interconnected than ever before and Canadians are still leading the way while other nation’s policies are still trying to catch up. Canada’s progressive national policies, while still needing some fine-tuning, have allowed its cannabis companies to make moves around the globe that others simply cannot make. Canadian companies…

Three United Kingdom Members of Parliament, representing the Conservative, Labour, and Liberal Democrat parties all recently traveled to Canada on a fact-finding trip organized by the harm reduction group Volte Face and all came back proclaiming that the UK would legalize cannabis in the coming years. The three MPs had different opinions on how soon…

Thailand, last year’s last minute cannabis reformer (along with Israel, on Christmas Day, as a “gift” to the Thai people), has wasted little time going where other national governments so far, have been slow  to go, if at all. As some had hoped, Pipat Ratchakitprakan, the new tourism and sports minister, plans to promote medical…

The International Cannabis Business Conference returns to beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, this September 15-16, with our trademark blend of business, politics, and culture. If you want the latest information on rules and regulations in Canada and around the world and to network with top investors, entrepreneurs, and advocates, the International Cannabis Business Conference is…

With the news that Health Canada has authorized outdoor cultivation (see Aurora), the entire cultivation conversation has now shifted into interesting new territory. And not just in Canada. Never mind that these first two sites will be used for research (for both indoor and outdoor grown strains). For the first time, since grow operations initiated…

It is a truism in the room that the cannabis industry, globally, and in each region of the world it springs forth in, is driven first by the medical side of the business. No matter how much excitement about CBD first strategies, it is the places where fully leaded, THC included, and regulated whole plant…

It makes sense that investors, including venture capitalists, are investing more and more in the cannabis industry each and every year. More states and nations are moving towards legalizing medical and adult-use cannabis and it is easy to see that a lot of progress is being made in the United States and around the world….

Positive cannabis law reforms have been taking hold all across the world, while Asia with many of its nations still maintaining draconian cannabis laws, has lagged behind North America, Europe, Africa, and South America. But the times may be a-changin’ and Thailand is leading the way. If Thailand is going to continue its lead and…

Canadian cannabis companies have been given a leg up on its global competition, but that advantage is being eroded and could be eliminated rather quickly once the United States ends federal prohibition, industry insiders warn, and it isn’t difficult to imagine. Federal laws allowing banking services, public investment, normal tax rules, and exports has made…

It’s no secret that cannabis sales in Canada have gotten off to a relatively slow start as the government has taken a rather conservative, cautious approach to licensing, as government officials’ public safety concerns have been given top priority. Regulatory hurdles have hindered efforts to open up brick and mortar stores, caused supply chain issues,…

Earlier this week, an economic report projected global cannabis sales to increase to 36% in 2019, with dramatic growth expected over the next five years, thanks to an expansion of existing markets and future ones not open just yet. That new business growth is good for companies, investors, consumers, tax collectors, and employees. Not surprisingly,…

Based on current sales, as well as reasonable projections regarding new markets, an industry report projects that global cannabis sales could hit about $15 billion this year, with a continued growth rate that might push the market to a whopping $40 billion in just five years. Cautious regulatory approaches in Canada and California provided hurdles…

It was big news when Molson Coors Brewing Company announced that it was forging a partnership to brew non-alcoholic cannabis drinks in Canada, but it shouldn’t have been surprising. Alcohol giant Constellation Brands had already invested heavily in the cannabis industry and it shouldn’t shock anyone that big companies, particularly those involved with alcohol and…

As most folks know by now, a lack of banking services have forced cannabis businesses, including those legal under state law, to deal predominantly in cash due to continued U.S. banking laws that make it nearly impossible to do business with federally chartered financial institutions. There are a few reasons why Canada, the first G7…

As the cannabis legalization movement moves more mainstream, and the industry become more profitable, we shouldn’t be surprised to see former policymakers and elected officials join the business sector. Former Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner has been the most prominent American politician to enter the industry while Vicente Fox, the former president of…

The best chance of the United States has of legalizing cannabis in the near future is passing the STATES Act that would end federal interference with state’s legalization laws as Donald Trump has signaled his support for the measure. Former Representative Dana Rohrabacher has stated his belief that Trump agrees with a states’ rights legalization…

The International Cannabis Business Conference made its first venture into Switzerland last week, with a conference in Zurich, and the event was a raging success. A sincere thanks to all of our speakers, attendees, sponsors and CannaTrade, Europe’s oldest hemp fair, for partnering with us. We are already looking forward to returning to Switzerland next year!…

Politics can make strange bedfellows. It is a cliche, but it is simply the truth, especially in the United States. There aren’t many political issues that progressive Oregon Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley have in common with conservative Kentucky Senators Randy Paul and Mitch McConnell, yet they combined forces to (re-)legalize hemp across the…

The international cannabis community continues to become more integrated as nation after nation establishes federal regulations. Canada, the first G7 country to end prohibition, has given their companies a head start, but others are starting to catch up with positive reforms catching fire across Europe and Israel and Latin America are starting to export as…

Cannabis legalization typically takes a series of baby steps and then giant leaps depending on the location. Progressive states in the U.S. have typically started with decriminalization of personal amounts, then legal medical use, until finally ending prohibition for adults. More conservative states that haven’t yet legalized have added another step: embracing CBD, while still…

With the news that both the first German bid has concluded and that Macedonia seems poised to import cannabis into the European Union, there has been increased interest in who can import cannabis into Germany, if not the EU and beyond. Could Switzerland become a major source of cannabinoid medications in Europe? The International Cannabis…

Foreigners entering the European cannabis market are finding that the regulations here are much higher than they expected, if not well downright confusing. This is especially true as cannabis crosses over into both food and medicine as well as beauty and skin products. One piece of regulation that is proving particularly thorny for CBD producers…

With 263 million estimated global cannabis consumers and a total addressable market of $344 billion (illicit and legal combined), cannabis is poised to make a material impact on the global economy. As the cannabis markets in Europe, Latin America, Asia and even Africa are beginning to take shape, one commonly overlooked regulatory detail is the…

Switzerland’s cannabis scene has flown somewhat under the radar internationally, but that is about to change. The innovative nation actually has rich cannabis culture. From the late 1990s until 2004, a “grey market” flourished as the cannabis community utilized a loophole in the federal narcotics law to engage in cannabis commerce. After the Swiss government…

Unless you are living under a rock, you know that cannabis legalization, for both medical and adult use purposes, is moving forward nation-by-nation across Europe and around the world. European medicinal sales doubled last year, and we can expect growth to continue rather aggressively as progress begets progress. Germany has been the leader on medical…

Germany’s medical cannabis program has grown by leaps and bounds and you don’t have to be too knowledgeable about Europe to know the influence that the German economy has on the region.  The International Cannabis Business Conference has grown right along with Germany’s cannabis market, and the Berlin event has become the conferences flagship with more than…

The day after the third annual International Cannabis Business Conference in Berlin, as the crew packed up and headed on to Zurich, news about the German cultivation bid surfaced in the domestic media. Namely, that three bid finalists (Aurora, Aphria and Demecan, a start-up founded with Wayland) had been selected. This is unofficial “news” as…

The forces currently shaping the European cannabis map are intriguing this spring and from several directions. For the latest developments in Europe and across the globe, there will be no better place learn and network with those leading the way, than at the International Cannabis Business Conference in Zurich with Cannatrade. In the meantime, here…

The German medical cannabis system has been an innovative pioneer in a few respects, helping thousands of patients get access to tested medicinal cannabis that is covered by their insurance programs. However, regulatory burdens and the lack of domestic cultivation have hindered the program, increasing prices and decreasing the availability of strains and products. The…

Cannabis and hemp are obviously intertwined in reality and politically. Cannabis and hemp are the same plant, but politically and regulatorily, hemp has been classified as basically low-THC cannabis, with allowable THC percentages varying depending upon jurisdictions. In Switzerland, where the International Cannabis Business Conference will be holding its next event in conjunction with the…