Barcelona Keynote

🇪🇸 It was an honor to give the keynote address 🎤 at InternationalCBC Barcelona!

😫 If you missed it, no worries, I’m sharing the inside scoop here: Cannabis is not just an industry—it’s a global bridge and can be a unifying force in our divided world. Unlike geopolitics where leaders shake hands for cameras while fighting behind closed doors, our industry has a real opportunity to exemplify true collaboration.

Three insights from my address: 🌎 “Cultivating Unity: A Global Vision for Cannabis” 🌎

🗺️ Health beyond borders: Cannabis offers scientifically backed alternatives to addictive pharmaceuticals. Organizations embracing cannabis are seeing reduced absenteeism and improved health outcomes—this data is so compelling, the New Jersey Teachers’ Union now offers insurance coverage for medical cannabis through Blue Cross Blue Shield and Aetna through their partnership with Leafwell.

💹 Economic inclusion: From Indigenous farmers to entrepreneurs, cannabis creates pathways to building wealth that do not require a Silicon Valley connection. The economic benefits beyond tax revenue, such as the savings from harm reduction, are staggering.

🔄 Environmental game-changer: Hemp absorbs 4x more CO2 than trees, regenerates soil, requires minimal water than other crops to grow, and creates a sustainable “America First” industry that can augment (or replace) petroleum-based plastics, textiles, and building materials! It's not just a crop—it's a desperately-needed climate solution.

🌱🌱 Cannabis - whether you’re referring to the over-regulated, psychoactive cannabis industry or the food, fiber, fuel, low-dose beverage juggernaut - cannabis sativa L - “cannabis” can and should be a symbol of global cooperation. Rather than in-fighting with a “we” / “they” divided approach, what if we accepted that we have descheduled THC, worked together to standardize regulations to facilitate fair trade, and worked globally to strengthen supply chains to provide global access to the best genetics and products from around the world?

❓What if?

Our industry provides health, sustainability, and economic engines that transform. But for this vision to become reality, we must work together to force fair regulations, create global trade agreements, and build infrastructure that allows entrepreneurs from all nations to participate. We need governments, investors, and businesses to recognize cannabis for what it truly is—an essential tool for global unity, economic inclusion, and planetary survival. In order to facilitate a genuine global conversation about the possibilities, we must intentionally unify our message and efforts.

#Cannabis #GlobalCooperation #Sustainability #harmreduction #EconomicInclusion #hemp #lowdosebeverages #drugpolicy #icbc#internationalcbc#berlin#barcelona #leadership