The second annual, premier cannabis industry event – the Cannabis Conclave – returned to Davos this January to bring together industry leaders and policy makers.

This year the Cannabis Conclave brought together cannabis industry executives, global investors, policy makers and international media to fuel the legalisation debate globally, both for recreational and medical cannabis, and to highlight the growing legitimacy and maturity of the legal cannabis industry.

The Consumer Choice Center organised the event that took place in Davos, Switzerland on 23 January, 2020.

Medical Cannabis Network spoke to organiser, David Clement, to find out more.

Cannabis Conclave 2020

As the world’s most influential executives, activists, and change makers descend on Davos, the conclave aimed to bring cannabis to the front and centre of the global discussion.

Clement, North American Affairs Manager with the Consumer Choice Center, said: “Both internationally and domestically, the number one issue is that legislation is not consumer or patient focussed. Legalisation bills, whether medical or recreational, should always be putting access and affordability first. Unfortunately, in many instances this is not the case. It is time for international bodies to realise that the war on drugs is a failure, especially its focus on cannabis.

“I think that countries should be able to craft cannabis regulations to suit their specifics needs. That being said, I’d strongly encourage all governments to abandon the war on drugs and to legalise cannabis.”

The high-end networking that occurs at the conclave ensures the right amount of knowledge sharing for future collaborations, and for smarter consumer focussed policy.

Clements said: “The legitimacy of the industry can be cemented by having additional countries embrace medical and recreational legalisation. Canada, despite its regulatory mistakes, has charted a course for other countries to follow their lead. We are hopeful that as more countries adopt legalisation, that a tipping point internationally is in the near future.”

Cannabis in 2020

2020 has been earmarked as a big year for cannabis – with expectations that both recreational and medicinal cannabis will become much more ‘normalised’.

Clements said: “The big developments for cannabis in 2020 will be new jurisdictions embracing legalisation. We know that Luxembourg and Malta are now currently reviewing what their legalisation process could look like. One big theme from those two countries is the question of how much they will learn from Canada? For example, it is our hope that while embracing legalisation that those two countries avoid over-regulating cannabis like Canada did.

“Having patient friendly and consumer friendly regulations is the only way to ensure that legalisati on is a success, and that the black market is stamped out.”

He added: “One big takeaway from Cannabis Conclave 2020 is that the world is now listening when it comes to cannabis legalisation.”

Originally published here.

The Consumer Choice Center is the consumer advocacy group supporting lifestyle freedom, innovation, privacy, science, and consumer choice. The main policy areas we focus on are digital, mobility, lifestyle & consumer goods, and health & science.

The CCC represents consumers in over 100 countries across the globe. We closely monitor regulatory trends in Ottawa, Washington, Brussels, Geneva and other hotspots of regulation and inform and activate consumers to fight for #ConsumerChoice. Learn more at consumerchoicecenter.org

Cannabis data and consulting company NOBL said Thursday it finalized its Series A fundraise at Davos and capital support of £1.25 million ($1.64 million).

Altitude Investment Management, Enexis AB and Artemis Growth Partners are some of the dominant cannabis investors who have supported the round.

“Closing our Series A with the caliber of investors we’ve brought in is indicative of our performance and reputation. We are proven to understand global markets, launch sector leading brands and operate tenacious companies that deliver month on month revenue growth” Co-Founder, Stephen Murphy, said in a statement at NOBL’s co-hosted Cannabis Conclave event in Davos.

NOBL offers a portfolio platform that contains some of the leading companies and brands in the industry, such as Atalis, European Cannabis Weeks, Prohibition Partners, NOBL Live and Cannabis Europa.

“We will continue to invest in talent and innovation while also enabling our operating companies to make smarter and more effective business decisions that will shape the future of the global cannabis industry in a meaningful and impactful way,” Murphy said.

Michael Goldberg, Partner at Altitude Investment Management, stated, “We have been collaborating with the team at NOBL over the last two years and are pleased to invest in this financing round as NOBL continues to shape the future of global cannabis through knowledge and intelligence with its superior data, insights, and networking opportunities.”

Medical cannabis in Europe has slowly been gaining traction, but there are still a number of hurdles around regulation that has a lot of catching up to do.

Speaking at the Cannabis Conclave event in Davos, Switzerland last week, Stephen Murphy of Prohibition Partners discussed medical cannabis policy and the importance of knowledge sharing across the continent.

Murphy said big brands have yet to enter the cannabis market, so less competition exists compared to other industries. The market correction offers a window of opportunity for new brands, businesses and ideas to be generated. He stressed cannabis covers numerous industries such as beverages, food, healthcare, beauty, wellness, construction, textiles, engineering, technology, pet care, biofuel and bedding.

“When we first started monitoring and identifying what’s happening in the cannabis space, there were five to six legal markets over the three years we have seen that grow,” said Murphy, who noted the CDB market in particular is really taking off.

“There are hundreds of thousands of people using medical cannabis across the world and we have significant evidence already in place that it justifies the implementation of legislation,” he said.

“I think we can put phases in place in terms of access levels to cannabis. The implication of medical cannabis’ availability in Israel and Canada when there are patients in the UK desperately trying to get access and cannot because ‘there is not enough data’ is very skewed thinking.”

Murphy said we have started to see a lot of pressure on regulatory bodies all of which have bills, policies and motions around cannabis. There are also major opportunities in R&D and there is a huge knowledge gap that needs to be filled.

Originally published here.

The Consumer Choice Center is the consumer advocacy group supporting lifestyle freedom, innovation, privacy, science, and consumer choice. The main policy areas we focus on are digital, mobility, lifestyle & consumer goods, and health & science.

The CCC represents consumers in over 100 countries across the globe. We closely monitor regulatory trends in Ottawa, Washington, Brussels, Geneva and other hotspots of regulation and inform and activate consumers to fight for #ConsumerChoice. Learn more at consumerchoicecenter.org

The World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, took place this week and alongside the main event there was a cluster of small cozy cannabis gatherings hosted in the Alps.

Switzerland is one of my favorite countries for a business trip and this week I experienced the ultimate luxury which involved sipping champagne and discussing pot – and the vibe was very much on point.

Business leaders, financial heavyweights and leading politicians from all over the world gathered to discuss key issues revolving around climate change and sustainable business. It’s estimated around 119 billionaires and 53 heads of state attended this year.

The Cannabis Conclave was a huge hit the previous year – an event hosted by David Clement from the Consumer Choice Center. The event was well attended by hedge fund managers and regulators, attracting crowds from Canada, Switzerland, Europe, Israel and China. Many discussions centered around the rapidly growing cannabis industry and how conservative countries are also adopting the recreational drug.

Canada was the second country, after Uruguay, to make cannabis federally legal and as a result took a cautious and in some times instances took a limited approach that has stifled both product availability as well as distribution chains.

What Can We Learn From Canada?

One Canadian government official at Davos who asked to remain anonymous explained: “Our federal government downloaded key aspects to provincial and municipal counterparts that created a disparate and disconnected set of frameworks creating confusion and a wide variety of structures across the country.”

He explained there has been clear winners such as Alberta that has a robust retail and production framework while Ontario has continually been lambasted for a slow and painful rollout that has reduced the success of legalization in the key market in the country.

“As a result we have clear winners and losers and there is much to learn from our experience. As the frameworks and mis-steps are remedied as like any new industry there will be meaningful lessons to be learned,” he explained.

He went on to add no country charting new ground has everything right and in some ways the black market has remained as vibrant as ever whose diminishment was the core cause.

“No silver bullet gets rid of an illegal product, but only meaningful policy that suits the customer and their wallet is effective and the correct approach, market forces should be listened to,” he said.

The Hurdles Of Cannabis

Over champagne, the official added a meaningful lesson for America is to ensure there are no disconnects between states and the federal government that currently persist that has limited proper regulation across the country and in particular created technical and practical problems for the legal industry that continues to give breath and vibrancy to the illicit market.

Stephen Murphy, co-founder of NOBL, highlighted the cannabis plant remains a great unknown with only 3% of the plant meaningfully studied. He stressed there is huge potential of the remaining 97% from a health, economic and social perspective.

Originally published here.

The Consumer Choice Center is the consumer advocacy group supporting lifestyle freedom, innovation, privacy, science, and consumer choice. The main policy areas we focus on are digital, mobility, lifestyle & consumer goods, and health & science.

The CCC represents consumers in over 100 countries across the globe. We closely monitor regulatory trends in Ottawa, Washington, Brussels, Geneva and other hotspots of regulation and inform and activate consumers to fight for #ConsumerChoice. Learn more at consumerchoicecenter.org

Tough times in the cannabis industry aren’t stopping its leaders from going to Davos.

For the second year in a row, there will be a Cannabis House in Davos, Switzerland this week alongside the schmoozing and speeches of the World Economic Forum. The 2020 offering promises to be “a little more formal and more professional” than last year’s, according to Jason Paltrowitz, executive vice president of corporate services at OTC Markets Group, one of the sponsors of the Cannabis House.

Cannabis House will feature a two-day conference focused on the themes of Davos 2020, including sustainability, climate change, social equity and impact investing.

The rout in pot stocks hasn’t dampened interest in the event, which will also include “a professional capital markets discussion,” Paltrowitz said.

The agenda has an international flavor, with speakers from Israel, Switzerland and Asia.

The goal is to get delegates from the World Economic Forum to pop in and learn about the industry, said Richard Carleton, chief executive officer of the Canadian Securities Exchange, another sponsor.

“What was particularly interesting to me last year was how many European institutional investors, everybody from family office managers, hedge funds, right up to some of the largest pension funds in the world” stopped by Cannabis House, Carleton said. “They hadn’t invested yet but were there to learn.”

Stock Rebound

Investors seemed to be in the mood to celebrate successes rather than punish failures last week.

Pot stocks ended the week significantly higher, with the BI Global Cannabis Competitive Peers Index up 15% and the Canadian-focused Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences Index ETF adding 18%, its biggest weekly increase since August 2018. The gains came despite Aphria Inc.’s earnings miss and cut to its full-year guidance, which sent its shares down 8.6% on Tuesday.

Instead, investors focused on positive results from Aphria’s smaller competitor Organigram Holdings Inc. Organigram’s U.S.-traded shares surged 45% Wednesday after it reported positive adjusted Ebitda and revenue that beat the highest analyst estimate. That sent the entire sector rallying, and even Aphria’s shares ended the week higher.

Given how fast investors have been to punish missteps in recent months, could this be a sign that the sector has bottomed out?

There are positive signs in the capital markets too, according to data from Viridian Capital Advisors. In the first two weeks of 2020, seven capital raises worth a total of $250 million were completed. Although the number of deals was lower than the 15 done in the first two weeks of 2019, the average deal size was more than 2.5 times bigger than the same period of last year, Viridian said.

Events This Week

MONDAY 1/20

• Cannabis House hosts “a global cannabis conversation” in Davos, Switzerland alongside the World Economic Forum, through Jan. 21
• U.S. markets closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day

WEDNESDAY 1/22

• CannaWest addresses regulatory issues in the industry; the event runs in Los Angeles through Jan. 24

THURSDAY 1/23

• A one-day Cannabis Conclave will be held in Davos, Switzerland

Originally published here.

Cannabis, blockchain, gaming: in het ‘officiële’ programma van het World Economic Forum kom je die zaken niet snel tegen. Maar Davos heeft ook een scherper, meer gedurfd randje.

Originally published here.

The Cannabis Conclave is returning to Davos on Jan. 23, alongside the World Economic Forum.

The Conclave, which is hosted by the Consumer Choice Center and Prohibition Partners, is an industry event that seeks to connect industry leaders, investors and policy makers. The purpose of the event is to advance the legalization discussion internationally, for both medical and recreational cannabis.

The event consists of a networking luncheon at the mountainside Restaurant Höhenweg, where guests will be treated to a full Swiss three course lunch, along with thought provoking presentations.

“We are excited to be back in Davos for our second annual Cannabis Conclave. This year we will have industry leaders from 24 countries in attendance. Our event will ensure that cannabis policy remains front and center as the world’s most influential people descend on Davos for the week,” David Clement, North American Affairs Manager at Consumer Choice Center, told Benzinga.

Originally published here.

The Consumer Choice Center is the consumer advocacy group supporting lifestyle freedom, innovation, privacy, science, and consumer choice. The main policy areas we focus on are digital, mobility, lifestyle & consumer goods, and health & science.

The CCC represents consumers in over 100 countries across the globe. We closely monitor regulatory trends in Ottawa, Washington, Brussels, Geneva and other hotspots of regulation and inform and activate consumers to fight for #ConsumerChoice. Learn more at consumerchoicecenter.org

The Cannabis Conclave, a premier cannabis industry event, will be returning to Davos on January 23rd, 2020.

Washington, DC, Dec. 06, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Consumer Choice Center is pleased to announce that the Cannabis Conclave will be returning to Davos, Switzerland on January 23, 2020.

The Cannabis Conclave was first hosted in January 2019. The conclave is a legal medical and recreational cannabis event that takes place at the mountainside Restaurant Höhenweg in Davos, Switzerland. The conclave brings together cannabis industry executives, global investors, policy makers, and international media. The purpose of the event is to fuel the legalization debate globally, both for recreational and medical cannabis, and to highlight the growing legitimacy and maturity of the legal industry. As the world’s most influential executives, activists, and change-makers descend on Davos, the conclave will ensure that cannabis is front and center in the global discussion. The conclave is a one-day event, taking place from 11:00am – 4:00pm on January 23rd. 

The event is officially sponsored by the Consumer Choice Center, Prohibition Partners, Fluence by OSRAM, and Golden Eagle Partners (GEP).

For sponsorship opportunities, speaking opportunities, or to request to attend the Cannabis Conclave, please email event organizer David Clement at david@consumerchoicecenter.org.

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Consumer Choice Center: The CCC represents consumers in over 100 countries across the globe. We closely monitor regulatory trends in Ottawa, Washington, Brussels, Geneva and other hotspots of regulation and inform and activate consumers to fight for #ConsumerChoice. Learn more at www.consumerchoicecenter.org.

Prohibition Partners: Prohibition Partners is widely recognised as the world’s leading provider of market intelligence, data-driven solutions and corporate strategy for the emerging cannabis industry. Our knowledge, insight, and network is unrivaled at the forefront of regulatory change and investor engagement across multiple global markets. Learn more at www.prohibitionpartners.com

Fluence by OSRAM: Fluence Bioengineering, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of OSRAM, creates the most powerful and energy-efficient LED lighting solutions for commercial crop production and research applications. Fluence is the leading LED lighting supplier in the global cannabis market and is committed to enabling more efficient crop production with the world’s top vertical farms and greenhouse produce growers. Fluence global headquarters are based in Austin, Texas, with its EMEA headquarters in Rotterdam, Netherlands. For more information about Fluence, visit https://fluence.science. 

Golden Eagle Partners (GEP): GEP’s combined experience in the early stages of the cannabis and life science sectors helps us confidently close strategic and financing transactions that match the near- and long-term goals of our marijuana and hemp clients. We specialize in mergers, acquisitions, reverse mergers, financings and incremental transactions such as licensing, joint ventures and co-development arrangements. Learn more at www.goldeneaglepartners.com

The Consumer Choice Center is the consumer advocacy group supporting lifestyle freedom, innovation, privacy, science, and consumer choice. The main policy areas we focus on are digital, mobility, lifestyle & consumer goods, and health & science.

The CCC represents consumers in over 100 countries across the globe. We closely monitor regulatory trends in Ottawa, Washington, Brussels, Geneva and other hotspots of regulation and inform and activate consumers to fight for #ConsumerChoice. Learn more at consumerchoicecenter.org