Tag: cannabis symposium

European Cannabis Events 2018

***UPDATE – EU Cannabis Events  2019 can be found here***

It is going to be a busy 2018 for cannabis expos and conferences in EU. I have compiled a list of some of the major Cannabis events in Europe this year. For clarity, I have divided them into 4 categories:

    • Cannabis Scientific Conferences
    • Business Conference
    • Expo & Conference
    • Hemp conferences

In each category, the events are listed by date. Which cannabis event are you going to participate in?

Cannabis Scientific Conferences Europe 2018

MAY

Cannabis Europa, 22 May, Barbican, London, UK

Cannabis Europa is the foremost arena to share knowledge and shape the future of medical cannabis in Europe. This is a uniquely European conference. There is no universal model for cannabis regulation and Europe has a clear opportunity to take a global leadership position. The conference is your opportunity to connect with influential leaders in science, policy and business. Gain unrivalled access to the most inspirational and forward-thinking figures in the industry. To navigate the future of European medical cannabis, industry leaders and regulators alike must share insights and innovations if we are to develop a truly successful, patient-focused sector.

JUNE

The International Annual Congress on Controversies in Cannabis-Based Medicines, 25-26 June, Vienna, Austria

It is our pleasure to invite you to participate in The International Annual Congress on Controversies in Cannabis-Based Medicines (Med-Cannabis2018) which will take place 25-26 June 2018 in Vienna, Austria.

A strong public and patient demand has led to the decision to allow cannabis products for medical use in most European countries. There is a lot of basic-science and clinical research on the potential use of cannabis products for chronic pain and cancer management as well as controversies on the potential harms.

This Congress will bring together researchers, clinicians, trialists, methodologists, industry professionals and representatives of the European Union and the European Medical Agency to update the current state of knowledge and of controversies and to outline some visions of the potential of cannabis based medicines.

ICRS Symposium, 30 June – 5 July, Leiden, The Netherlands

The 28th Annual International Cannabinoid Research Society Symposium on the Cannabinoids

Leiden, The Netherlands
Arrival date: June 30
Meeting: July 1- 4, 2018
Departure date: July 5

ICRS2018 will be our 28th annual Symposium. Another brilliant year of scientific progress!

Expo & Conference Europe 2018

JANUARY

Athens Cannabis Expo, January 12-14, 2018 | Faliro Sports Pavilion Arena (Tae Kwon Do) | Athens

The 1st International Cannabis Expo in Greece is happening! The purpose of the event is to inform the public about all the products and innovations that exist in the world of cannabis and the latest achievements in the medical, pharmaceutical and industrial use of cannabis. Come to get to know all the innovative companies that are active in the cannabis sector with many different products and services such as CBD (Cannabidiol), cosmetics, cocktails,  seeds, medical , vaporizers, clothing and many more.

FEBRUARY

Cannapa Mundi, 16-18 February, Rome Italy

Cannapa Mundi is the International Fair which has been bringing in Rome hemp fragrance and taste since 2015: the biggest event in Italy in exponential growth, the only officially recognized as International. In 2017: 7.500m², 120 stands, 23,000 attendances, 6,000 accredited professionals. In 2018: 9,000m², 150 stands, a relevant increase of visitors is expected.

MARCH

Spannabis Barcelona + International cannabis Forum, 9-11 March, Spain

Spannabis 15h Edition. What appeared to be a dream is now an outstanding reality: SPANNABIS, celebrating its eleven anniversary is consolidated as the most important Spanish cannabic event of the year, hand in hand with the Expocannabis fair in Madrid & Spannabis in Málaga.

APRIL

Konopex Ostrava, 20-22 April, Ostrava, Czech Republic

The Konopex Ostrava hemp expo will grow in the unique industrial area of Dolní  Vítkovice (- we call place WEEDkovice). Where we will again open the doors to the world of cannabis. There will be prepared exhibitions for you dedicated to cannabis, cannabis seeds, growing indoor and outdoor equipment and exhibitions focused on garden equipment and other curative herbs.You will find out lot of interesting information and news about usage of hemp in medicine, civil engineering, industry and livestock. Next you can look forward to a rich accompanying program including lextures, conferences and hemp exchange, where you can discuss and trade with respected experts. Finally, there will be workshops, competitions and afterparty ready for you.

CannaTrade ,27-29 April, Zurich-Oerlikon, Switzerland

We have the pleasure to welcome you to CannaTrade, the oldest hemp fair in Europe! The history of CannaTrade started 2001, in the fair halls of BEA Expo Bern, as a result of the Swiss Hemp Days in 1999 and 2000. The following editions of CannaTrade in 2008 and 2009 were presented at the exhibiton halls of Basel. Caused by the hemp related political situation, we decided to organize the fair CannaTrade in a two-years-rhythm. Until 2016, we did this successfully at Stadthalle Dietikon/Zurich.The next edition of CannaTrade takes place in the middle of Zurich!

MAY

Expo Canamo Sevilla, 11-13 May, Sevilla, Spain

Expocáñamo brings back to Seville the hemp culture fair, where you will enjoy a dynamic and comforting experience, you will dance with the best rhythms of reggae and rap, you will see the latest in cultivation technology, you will taste a wide variety of products with hemp and its derivatives and you can enjoy endless activities for your entertainment.

Indica Sativa Trade, 18-20 May, Bologna, Italy

Indica Sativa 2018

JUNE

BALKANNABIS EXPO, 1-3 JUNE, TECΗNOPOLIS ATHENS, GREECE

BALKANNABIS EXPO will host top cannabis traders, innovators, experts, industry professionals and scientists from all over the world in a rich and diverse 3-day programme that will include:

  • a large exhibition area and international trade show
  • two international conferences (Cannabis Science & Hemp Summit) with
  • keynote and guest speakers
  • cannabis culture workshops
  • networking spaces
  • masterclasses
  • market area
  • music and other artistic performances

MARY JANE BERLIN, 8 – 10 June, Arena Berlin, Germany

Mary Jane Berlin starts it third edition in Berlin – with over 6,500 m2 of hall space and 2,000 m2 of outdoor space is “Mary Jane Berlin” the leading German Cannabis exhibition with more than 200 national and international exhibitors. “Mary Jane Berlin” is not only an exhibition but also a festival. In combination with our exhibitors, food stalls, live concerts and lectures about cannabis’ therapeutic effects an extensive cultural and entertainment program is offered. As a visitor of Mary Jane Berlin, we inform you about the variety of THE green power plant – as food, cosmetic, building material, medicine and much more!

OCTOBER

Spannabis Madrid, 5-7 October, Madrid, Spain

Spain capital city will become from 5th to 7th of October the world cannabis capital by the hand of Spannabis. Spannabis will be held in Pabellón de Cristal of Casa de Campo, just a few minutes from Plaza de España. The results of the six previous fairs that we organized in Madrid suburbs, Leganés and Rivas, generated a great attendance of professionals and visitors. Because this edition will be held near the center of Madrid, we hope to have more attendance than in previous fairs.

Cultiva Hemp Expo, 12-14 October, Veinna, Austria

Cultiva Hemp Expo 2018

Cannapa in Mostra, 26-28 October, Naples, Italy

The association CANAPA in MOSTRA is pleased to present CANAPA in MOSTRA International Trade Fair of Industrial and Medical Hemp of Naples.

Hemp, known and used in all parts of the world, is recently returning to make space through a renewed social and economic interest.

In particular, we propose hemp as an ecological resource in the agricultural, energy, medical, recreational, textile, paper, green building and in every other possible field of application, trying to undermine the socio-cultural prejudices that oppose its real and massive reintroduction in the Italian context.

The fields of use of this plant are already very many, but with the advance of technology and scientific discoveries could become infinite, moreover the continuous demand for new eco-sustainable technologies imposes the need for new research on this extremely versatile material.

The intention of the association is to bring the general public and institutions aware of this potential and to bring to mind the long tradition that links our country to hemp, particularly the Campania region, trying to provide a place for aggregation , training and exchange for workers, experts, enthusiasts and anyone who is intrigued by this re-emerging industry in continuous turmoil and expansion.

NOVEMBER

Cannafest, 2-4 November, Prague, Czech Republic

The international trade show of cannabis and medical herbs Cannafest is the biggest cannabis fair in the world. Visitors can look forward to interesting expositions of exhibitors from all around the world. As usually, there will be cultivation technology, fertilizers, seeds, smoking accessories and vaporizers on display and on sale. People could also try and buy various hemp cosmetic products, clothing items or delicious hemp food, which shouldn’t be missed.

Business Conference Europe 2018

APRIL

ICBC Berlin, 11-13 April, Berlin, Germany

ICBC Berlin 2018

EuroAmerican Cannabis Business Conference, 1–2 November 2018, Prague, Czech Republic

EuroAmerican Cannabis Business Conference is an International Cannabis B2B Conference in the Heart of Europe

Hemp conferences Europe 2018

MAY

Hemp Food, Health & Beauty, May 25-26,The Palace at Nakło, Poland

This is a special invitation for you to join us May 25-26, 2018 for Hemp Food, Health & Beauty, part of the Hemp | 2020 Business Summit Series hosted by HempToday, the leading source for global business information about industrial hemp

We join with a group of independent entrepreneurs with strong bonds, and sharing key assets through which we strengthen our individual grass-roots businesses. We look for strategic and financial partners to join us as we work to synthesize our enterprises to further develop hemp industry value chains — from farming to processing facilities and product lines, B2B and B2C communications and marketing, sales and distribution channels.

To be held at HempToday’s center in the Palace at Nakło, Lelów, Poland, the Summit is an opportunity for current and future industry stakeholders to get up close and personal as we survey the vast opportunities in hemp food, health and beauty products worldwide, and explore investment and business opportunities together.

The aims of the Summit are to share knowledge and experiences, to foster business matchmaking among participants, to generate a body of content for broader distribution around the world, and to jointly explore the potential for hemp food, health and beauty products as an engine for sustainable local economic development.

We have invited entrepreneurs, consultants, investors, researchers and policy experts who’ll explore hemp’s market potential as a “super,” “nutritious” and “bio” food and health supplement, along with its promise in a wide range of topical, skin-care and beauty applications. We’ll look at value chain and economic development possibilities based on the production of hemp food and health products.

JUNE

International Conference of the European Industrial Hemp Association, 12 – 13 June, Maternushaus, Cologne, Germany

Specialists from all over the world will meet at EIHA 2018 in order to exchange information regarding the latest developments in hemp applications for fibres, shivs, seeds and oil as well as cannabinoids. Applications are biocomposites in automotive and construction, textiles, food, food supplements and pharmaceuticals. We are expecting again more than 300 international participants from more than 40 countries – we are looking forward to the biggest event on industrial hemp ever!

 

2017 – A year of conferences, expos and symposiums

A year of conferences, expos and symposiums

New medical cannabis laws

2017 was a very busy year for cannabis. In Europe we saw some important changes happening to the medical cannabis laws in several countries, such as Germany, Poland, Greece and Malta. On the 10 of March the draft of the new medical cannabis laws went into effect in Germany, which received a lot of national and international attention. This could be partly seen at the ICBC in Berlin, where hundreds of participant, from all over the world, came to see what the new laws were and tried to get into this potentially very lucrative market.

Business conferences vs. Expos

Another trend that I noticed is that expos are becoming more customer orientated and less interesting for businesses working in the cannabis field. We can see a trend of seed banks and local specialised stores increasing in these venues and a decrease of other cannabis businesses. The main complaint is that these expos are becoming a “smoke fest” and it is not worth the money to exhibit at these events.

To counteract this trend, Business conferences have started popping up all over Europe (ICBC Berlin, EUROAMCBC, ICACO) and big expos, like Cannafest and Cultiva, are doing separate events, dedicated for business professionals.

Below are some of the highlights of the events I attended this year.

6th Annual Masterclass Medicinal Cannabis

The 6th annual Masterclass was organized by Arno Hazekamp, in collaboration with Bedrocan, in the young, vibrant city of Leiden. They say that it is like “Amsterdam without the tourists” and it certainly feels very that way; under the hotel I stayed there were 2 coffee shops.

The masterclass was 5 days of intense lectures by renowned specialists such as Danial Schecter MD, Linda Klumpers PhD, prof. Renger Witkamp, William Nottcut MD and Noel Palmer PhD.

The last day of masterclass was a trip to the Bedrocan Netherlands facility, which most of the participants were looking forward to. Besides the presentation of the Bedrocan history, quality control and R&D, we also got to see the actual grow rooms, where the various chemotypes of Bedrocan are grown.

ICBC Berlin

The timing of this event was fortuitous as it was just 2 days after the German government announced the rules for applying for the cultivation of medical cannabis in Germany. As you can imagine, hundreds of cannabis businessmen, from all over the world, came to get this valuable information and try to get a piece or the potentially huge German medical cannabis market. It was great to see and hear Tommy Chong, always smiling and with great positive energy.

IndicaSativa Trade Show

The fifth year of this expo at the Unipol Arena in Bologna (Italy) was an exciting event with even more diverse cannabis related products, than the last edition. They intelligently moved the date of the expo to an earlier term, as the arena can get very hot in the summer.

8th European Workshop on Cannabinoid Research

The 8th European Workshop on Cannabinoid Research was held at the Univeristy of Roehampton in London, where scientist in the field of endocannabinoid research scientific research gathered in one place. The 3 day event fetured talks form prominent authorities in the field of endocannabinoid sciences such as Professor Ben Cravatt, Dr Matt Hill, Professor Cecilia Hillard, Professor Vincenzo di Marzo, Dr Ben Whalle and Dr Guillermo Velasco.

IACM 9th Conference on Cannabinoids In Medicine

The main cannabinoid scientific conference this year, with more than 350 participants from 37 countries. The number of scientist attending the IACM confernce was amazing and the presentations reflected the newest findings in the area of cannabinoid medicine research. The schedule was very intense with interesting back to back presentations from the leading experts in this field. Frankly, it was too much to digest in just 2 days and I think I didn’t even get the chance to talk to over half of the people I intended to. A fantastic event, a must for any cannabis researcher. Sadly its biennial and we will have to wait until 2019 for the next event.

Cultiva Hemp Expo 2017

This year’s expo was larger due to the fact that they moved the symposium part to a separate area, where you did not need a ticket to go and listen to the presentations. This seemed like a good idea, but the distance and location of the conference room was very impractical and I hope they restore it to how it was before. It was also interesting to see the increase of various CBD products and terpene blends.

EuroAmerican Cannabis Business Conference

Euro American Cannabis business conference

Following the trend of business conferences alongside expos, the organizer of the Cannafest expo hosted the first Euro American Cannabis business conference. It took place at the beautiful neo-renaissance Žofín Palace, located in the very heart of Prague on an iconic Slavonic island. As it was it0s first year, there weren’t many participants, but that offered a chance to have more 1 to 1 time with all the invited international speakers.

HHI Expo & Symposium 

Health Hemp Expo and Sympsium Melbourne 2017

To top off this intense and exciting year, I was honoured to be invited to speak at the HHI Expo & Symposium held in Melbourne, Australia. The symposium offered 2 days of presentations from Australia’s top cannabis advocates such as Dr Teresa Towpik , Justin Sinclair, Paul and Sharlene Mavor, Prof Ian Brighthope, Carol Ireland, Michael and Ben Oakley. The expo offered a wide variety of things to see and to try out, but there was one thing that was evidently missing. The sale of cannabis seeds is forbidden, which means that seed companies are not present in Australia. This is in direct contrast to what you can see in EU expos, where the majority of the exhibitors are seed companies. On a more positive note, Australia legalized the sale of hemp products for consumption, on the 12 of November – people can now legally enjoy the benefits of these natural healthy products.

What will 2018 bring to the table? Even more fantastic expos, conferences and symposiums…more details in my next post.