As the European CBD & cannabis industry evolves, cannabis companies such as World High Life PLC (NEX: LIFE) expand their operations overseas.
The locks are open! The train has left the station. The ghost is out of the bottle and there is no way to put it back. The momentum of the Cannabis Legalization Wave cannot be stopped after decades of governments dragging feet.
The question is who should we thank for this sudden and never-ending pressure in the discussion of whether cannabis should be legal and accessible to everyone? You would logically assume that it was the countless thousands of individual cannabis activists or the multitude of larger, nationally and internationally operating cannabis advocacy groups, such as NORMAL of Cannabis Europe, who have carried the cannabis release torch. And for the most part you are right. Years of hard work and uncompromising perseverance has kept the “green dream” alive, but there is another, even greater driving force behind the changing perception of cannabis ….
Cannabis activism has been boosted by economic factors
You see, where activists were fighting and still fighting for their love of the plant and their individual rights to consume it without hindrance or persecution, patients fight for something else; their lives. And it is precisely for this reason that the call for worldwide legalization of cannabis has received as much attention as it has. Urgency.
That does not mean that the decades of hard work of activists and their constant struggle were for nothing. On the contrary, that work has laid the foundation for the global debate that we are having today. But alone, the activist community would not have been able to get the agenda backed up so quickly and with so much weight if the patients – and their parents, in the case of children in urgent need of medical alternatives – had not risen to make their voices heard.
The big game changer has been economics. The cannabis boom in North America has demonstrated to European governments that there is a lot of money and jobs to made from lax attitudes towards cannabis. There is also the hope that it will provide cheaper treatment alternatives, alleviating the financial pressure on Europe’s beleaguered national health services.
For example a British company World High Life PLC (NEX: LIFE) is aiming to become the world’s leading CBD and medicinal cannabis player by the acquisition of the most promising UK and European companies. Their management team is experienced in Canadian cannabis market, but plans to transfer their know-how to the rapidly growing European market.
World High Life have begun with their high profile purchase of the UK’s largest CBD producer, Love Hemp, and plan to help the British CBD giant expand into other European markets, principally Germany. The rise in interest in CBD has helped companies grow rapidly but it has also been driven by patients mistrust of big pharma.
Trust lost confidence in Big Pharma
When we say “patients,” we mean those who suffer from diseases such as epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, glaucoma, chronic pain, or people undergoing cancer or HIV / AIDS treatment.
Most of these patients have one big thing in common; they are disillusioned with “Big Pharma”. The medicines that these companies produce do not work (anymore) or cause countless other problems, such as serious side effects or dependency problems. Of course many went looking for alternatives and eventually found relief in cannabis.
Chelsea Leyland
One such patient, who has become a spokesperson and advocate of medicinal cannabis, is Chelsea Leyland. This British DJ, actress, fashion icon and now activist, suffers from a type of epilepsy called ‘Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy (JME), which she has been fighting since her early teens. A few years ago she discovered CBD (a non-psychoactive substance found in cannabis) and since then she has completely discarded herself from pharmaceutical anti-epilepsy drugs and is treating her epilepsy exclusively with medicinal cannabis.
Keynote / guest of honor: Jim Belushi
James Adam “Jim” Belushi is an American actor, voice actor, comedian, singer and musician. Jim is the founder of Belushi’s Farm cannabis and a strong advocate of the beneficial properties of the cannabis plant. Jim argues for patient rights and legalization by adults.
World wide wave. What can you expect from the Cannabis Capital Convention
This year’s theme will emphasize the World Wide Wave in cannabis legalization, with an emphasis on Europe. What can other countries, such as the Netherlands, learn from this wave and who is next? And what are the investment opportunities that this wave entails.
The conference look at European companies to see what they have to offer. We will explore and learn how they are prosperous despite their activities in a legal grey zone and how they will compete and thrive in a global market if barriers are removed. We will also keep the focus on North American brands to discuss the lessons they have learned.
We bring together the knowledge of North American cannabis investors and seasoned veterans of the European cannabis market in our Cannabis Capital Convention. Secondly, we will offer a platform to discuss various ideas and visions within the industry. Think of activists, farmers and professors who will broaden your perspective!
New this year is the Pitch Lab in which startups present their thoughts and ideas about the developing cannabis industry.