September 16, 2014

Andrew Sullivan On The ICBC: Best. Conference. Ever.

September 16, 2014
andrew sullivan marijuana
andrew sullivan marijuana
(via the atlantic)

We here at the International Cannabis Business Conference sincerely thank all of our attendees, vendors and speakers. You all made our first international conference an amazing success and experience. The reviews from everyone involved were tremendous and we are very happy that people gained valuable information and networking connections. We look forward to future conferences, events and ways that we can assist the cannabis community and industry succeed in the years and decades to come.

Keynote speaker Andrew Sullivan, like many of our speakers, wowed the audience with his wit and intellect. He provided great insight into the conservative and libertarian arguments for legalizing and regulating marijuana, while still addressing the need for compassion and understanding for the human condition. The feeling of appreciation was apparently mutual as Sullivan declared that the ICBC was the, “Best. Conference. Ever.” The pioneering blogger had this to report on The Dish after making it back home Sunday night after the conference:

I spent the last three days in Portland, Oregon, the kind of city I could easily live in: manageable, green, easy-going, mellow, polite. And I spent it with a few hundred entrepreneurs and activists, preparing and debating and sharing experiences about the burgeoning cannabis industry. It felt a lot like a gathering more than ten years’ ago of activists and ordinary gay folks, anticipating the possibility of civil marriage rights. It had the same energy, the same nervousness, and the same excitement. And, for me, the big reveal was the staggering level of innovation, imagination and technology that will transform the cannabis market as only American capitalism can.

And the people there defied every stereotype people want to apply to those of us who want to end the destructive, self-defeating Prohibition of a plant that is much less harmful than alcohol or tobacco. We’re long since past the age of Cheech and Chong; past the dumb giggles and condescending jokes, and mercifully beyond the boomer divide that still somehow sees this is as some kind of culture war issue, rather than a sane, pragmatic, gradual reform that will end persecution of so many, and improve the lives of countless more. So, yes, it did remind me of marriage equality – not least because the logic behind it is just as powerful and the opposition just as intellectually weak.

It a great feeling to have put on an event that brought such a brilliant mind to the cannabis community and to have one of the top political and cultural pundits of the day leaving equally impressed with members of the cannabis industry. As the cannabis industry moves forward with our agenda of promoting freedom and an entrepreneurial spirt that will responsibly create jobs and generate revenue, it is imperative that we embrace various political and cultural ideals that get us to the same end goal: ending the failed and harmful policy of marijuana prohibition. As Sullivan stated in his keynote, marijuana prohibition is based upon lies and all lies will eventually collapse. As the lies that prop up prohibition collapse, the cannabis community will have the opportunity to finally end the barbaric practice of locking people up in cages for utilizing a nontoxic plant, less addictive and lethal than alcohol and tobacco. The jobs and revenue that will follow, will simply be a bonus.

This post re-posteded with special permission from the International Cannabis Business Conference. 

Share:

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Reddit
[js-disqus]
Recent & Related Posts
Recent & Related Posts