Steve DeAngelo, cannabis visionary, activist, and entrepreneur with over 40 years of experience will be delivering the keynote speech on Sunday at the International Cannabis Business Conference (link) at the Convention Center in Portland. DeAngelo co-founded Harborside Health Center - the world’s largest medical cannabis dispensary – located in Oakland, California. Harborside Health Center currently serves more than 120,000 patients, employs more than 100 people, and provides more than 250 laboratory-tested cannabis products. With sales over $30 million per year, Harborside is the second-largest taxpayer in Oakland, and has established itself as the exemplary model for dispensaries nationwide.
In conjunction with his entrepreneurship, DeAngelo has been an outspoken advocate for reform and has led the way for sensible drug policies in the US. “Where cannabis was legalized, thousands of jobs have been created and states have seen hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes,” DeAngelo explained to French newspaper Le Monde. An activist for most of his life, DeAngelo has fought against marijuana prohibition and for a legalized system which “creates jobs, creates tax revenue, takes citizens out of contact with criminals, reduces the burden on law enforcement, and takes money away from the illicit underground. [The current] system destroys jobs and tax revenue, forces otherwise law-abiding citizens into contact with criminal organizations, increases the burden on law enforcement and requires huge expenditures of tax revenue – all while sending more and more money into the criminal underground. If Harborside were to be closed, $22 million of unregulated cannabis sales would be shifted to the streets of Oakland. And that’s the last thing this city needs right now.”
This September, DeAngelo will join an assortment of activists, entrepreneurs, and policy makers at the International Cannabis Business Conference, including Congressman Earl Blumenauer, The Dish’s Andrew Sullivan, and Oregon Representative Peter Buckley for two days of discussion about the future of the cannabis industry. The International Cannabis Business Conference provides a unique opportunity for activists and entrepreneurs to network and discuss the flourishing cannabis industry and how reforms nationwide are impacting it. The conference will take place on Saturday, September 13th, and Sunday, September 14th. Conference badges are currently $499 and available at Northwest Alternative Health locations in Eugene and Medford, as well as Ashland Alternative Health. Contact 1-888-920-6076 to purchase with a credit or debit card; tickets can also be ordered online.
