Cannabis industry professionals from around the world will focus on the evolving market for legal marijuana when CanEx Jamaica Business Conference and Expo 2019 comes ashore at Montego Bay on September 26 through 28. Billed as the premier business-to-business conference in Latin America and the Caribbean, CanEx Jamaica brings together professionals working in the industry to share knowledge and discuss advances in the industry.
“There are numerous opportunities for growth and investment in the cannabis industry and this conference will present business leaders, investors, cultivators, scientists, manufacturers, and other potential stakeholders with a platform to explore the global marketplace,” said CanEx Jamaica founder Douglas K. Gordon in a press release.
This year’s CanEx Jamaica will feature keynote addresses from the former president of Mexico Vicente Fox; Steve DeAngelo, the founder of Oakland’s Harborside cannabis dispensary; former Canopy Growth CEO Bruce Linton; and Cam Battley, the chief corporate officer for Aurora Cannabis.
DeAngelo, who founded one of California’s first medical marijuana dispensaries, said that cannabis and hemp agriculture can help address pressing environmental challenges including climate change.
“[Cannabis] is a tremendous raw material,” DeAngelo said. “We are learning new and amazing things all the time. The future is that [cannabis] is the most important and valuable industry on Planet Earth.”
Approximately 80 others including High Times Group executive chairman Adam Levin and cannabis writer Javier Hasse are also scheduled to speak at CanEx Jamaica this year. Speakers and panelists will tackle issues including advocacy, cultivation, science and medicine, investment, banking and finance, and topics relevant to the business of cannabis such as women entrepreneurship in the industry.
Organizers expect industry professionals from North America, the Caribbean, Europe, South and Central America, and Africa to attend CanEx Jamaica, to be held later this month at the Montego Bay Convention Center.
“We expect participants from more than 30 countries representing a rich array of potential opportunities for partnership and collaboration,” said Gordon.
Jamaica has led the way for the establishment of a cannabis industry in the Caribbean, decriminalizing marijuana in 2015 and subsequently issuing licenses for the cultivation and sale of medicinal cannabis. Other Caribean nations are now following suit, with St. Vincent and the Grenadines issuing the first licenses to cultivate medical marijuana earlier this year and Barbados, the Cayman Islands, and Nevis and St. Kitts are also moving toward legalization. Professionals from around the region will have the opportunity to explore new opportunities in the emerging industry at the conference.
“Our mission is not only to provide a memorable and robust cannabis conference in terms of content but also to ensure we curate and present the very best of the Caribbean,” said Gordon. “CanEx Jamaica will provide stakeholders with a platform to engage, share knowledge, and build valuable relationships with other interested stakeholders.”
