The European medical cannabis market has the potential to become the biggest market in the world. With an estimated value of 35.7 billion euros in the medical cannabis market alone, there is a growing interest for businesses, organizations and governments to be part of this evolution.
Europe has been trying to get aboard the emerging cannabis market, that is happening all over the world, especially in USA, Canada and South America. In the USA , 29 states have a legal medical cannabis market and 9 states also have a legal recreational market. Canada has also a growing medical cannabis market and later this year, it will become the first G7 country with a legal recreational market. This is also reflected in the number of cannabis events that are happening this year all over North America.
In Europe we are also seeing a consistent increase in the number and quality of cannabis related events (conferences, expos, symposiums). One of the most prominent 2018 events, taking place in London on the 21st-22nd of May, will be Cannabis Europa.
Organized by Hanway Associates, Prohibition Partners and the European Cannabinoid Therapy Association, this event will bring together the major EU and global leaders in all the important fields of this emerging market. The invited speakers are leaders in their fields of business, policy, science and patient advocacy.
Policy
In many EU countries we have seen a trend of implementing new medical cannabis laws. It is important to have policy makers, that understand the complexities and the benefits, that good a state implemented medical cannabis program can have on its residents.
Members of UK parliament- Jeff Smith, George Freeman and Crispin Blunt – will join the conversation with the European members of parliament, Estefania Torres (Spain) and Stelios Kouloglou (Greece), and Prof. Guglielmo Trovato from the European Medical Association, in discussing the current situation of medical cannabis policy in the EU.
Business
The European cannabis market is attracting a lot of foreign investors and companies that already have experience in medical cannabis. With an increasing number of EU countries implementing medical cannabis legislation, there is an increasing demand for medical cannabis products.
Tjalling Erkelens, the founder and CEO of Bedrocan International BV, which is currently the only EU licensed producer of medical cannabis, will join with the North American colleagues, Mike Dacks (MedReleaf), Dr. Shane Morris (Aurora cannabis), George Scorsis (Liberty Health Sciences) and Michael Abbott (Columbia Care), in discussing the legislative hurdles and business opportunities of an ever-growing EU cannabis market.
Science
Several countries in the EU have a long history of excellent cannabis scientific research. In Spain the Complutense University of Madrid is one of such research centers, where Dr. Cristina Sanchez has been doing very important research on cannabinoid mechanism of action in cancer, especially focusing on breast cancer.
Other researchers, such as Prof. Mike Barnes form Newcastle University, Dr. Saoirse O’Sullivan from the University of Nottingham, Dr. Lorenzo Calvi form the University of Pavia and Dr. Arno Hazekamp, have all contributed to our better understanding of the importance and potential therapeutic use of medical cannabis.
Patients
One of the best ways to learn about the benefits of medical cannabis is trough patients and their personal experiences. Jasmin Thomas, Chelsea Leyland, Jacqueline Poitras and Carola Perez are all avid advocates for the use and implementation of medical cannabis laws and they will share their own personal experiences.
Jacqueline and Carola are also representing their patient organisations; Mamaka (Greece) and OECM (Spain).
Patient organisations have and important role in giving patients the information they are seeking in their native country. They can also have other important roles; as an example, the German Cannabis Association, represented by Florian Rister and Verena Aßmann, is the biggest cannabis legalisation advocacy group in Germany and also the main association for the German cannabis industry.
Cannabis Europa is definitely an event you do not want to miss, if you want to be on top on the latest important updates and meet the global leaders in this new and exciting sector. See you in London!
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