I have lived in Oregon my entire life. I couldn’t picture myself living anywhere else. Admittedly, I haven’t traveled everywhere and consumed marijuana all over the globe, but I can say that anywhere I have traveled (All over the Western United States) I have never seen marijuana as good and as cheap as it is in Oregon. Oregon was the first state to decriminalize marijuana, the second to legalize medical marijuana, and in 2014 legalized recreational marijuana.
It’s an amazing time to be a cannabis consuming Oregonian. It’s also an exciting time to be an entrepreneur. But with the good has come some bad. Patients and those that help them have seen a once awesome medical marijuana program take significant steps backwards. I was a public policy major in college, and a lot of my classmates went on to work at the Oregon Legislature. All of them (many who work for elected officials that aren’t cannabis friendly) told me that regardless of Measure 91, the Oregon Legislature was going to clamp down on the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program anyways. I was a patient back in the mid-2000’s, and recently became a patient again, and so much has changed.
It’s an exciting, but in a lot of ways, nervous time in Oregon when it comes to cannabis. There’s a lot to keep track of, and a lot to know. That’s why I’m going to the Oregon Marijuana Business Conference in Eugene this weekend. Recreational marijuana licenses are about to be issued in Oregon, and the foundation that Oregon is going to be operating on into the future is about to be laid. There’s no better time to learn and to network in Oregon than now, and there’s no better place to do that than the Oregon Marijuana Business Conference this weekend in Eugene.
Dr. Carl Hart is going to be there. I have never heard him speak before, and I’m very much looking forward to that. He is one of the smartest people on this planet. Literally. Tommy Chong will be in attendance. I recently talked to Tommy Chong, and I’m hoping to get him to autograph my Chong Bong. We shall see! There are so many amazing speakers that I’m looking forward to seeing – Chelsea Hopkins, Lee Berger, Sarah Duff, Anthony Johnson, Paul Loney, Aaron Smith, Anthony Taylor, and so many more. I feel like a kid with Christmas coming in a couple days.
There are still tickets available. I’m going, along with a lot of friends, and hopefully you are too if you are in the area. The night before the conference there is a reception with Dr. Carl Hart, which is an amazing add-on to the conference. The conference itself starts on Sunday, April 24th, at 9:00 AM, at the Hilton in Eugene. You can register here. Hope to see you there!
