With so many countries around the world legalizing medical cannabis to varying degrees, (35 is our latest count), it’s an exciting time to be a globally oriented company with the goal of becoming “the world’s best provider of medical cannabis.”
But it also means a busy travel schedule for many members of the JMCC team.
We began the year at Lift’s Vancouver Expo in January. It was an adrenaline-boosting experience, with so many of the reported 14,000 attendees over the three days of the event making their way to JMCC’s booth to speak with our team. Both industry and public visitors were intrigued by the concept of a Canadian-based company producing sun-grown medical cannabis in this small Caribbean island nation, which, for decades, has been something of a legend in the annals of marijuana cultivation.
Explaining Jamaica’s 2015 law and the country’s commitment to supporting the production of high-quality medicinal cannabis left JMCC representatives hoarse but happy by the end of each conference day. After Canada, Jamaica was among the first to introduce a comprehensive new legal regime and stringent licensing process to nurture a regulated industry that would provide safe, higher quality products, and help wrest control of production and distribution from the black market.
JMCC was among the first foreign-based enterprises to recognize the opportunity promised by the country’s long history of cannabis cultivation and related medical research, ideal growing environment, educated workforce and strong national support, among other factors. Local leaders have taken note of JMCC’s sizeable investment in planning a 55,000-square foot integrated processing and warehousing facility, and its unique business model – including establishing a Farmers’ Collective, its commitment to hiring local employees wherever possible, and creation of the JMCC Foundation to contribute to Jamaica’s social and economic development.
Throughout 2018, JMCC has been taking its story and the promise of high-quality Jamaican medicinal cannabis on the road. Below is a quick run-down on other events we’ve attended so far (including, most recently the incredibly successful 2018 Lift Expo in Toronto) and our top take-aways from these events.
San Diego, California, U.S.A.: Emerald Conference: Exploring the Science of Cannabis, February 15-16. Members of JMCC’s science, and risk and compliance teams attended as delegates. They thought it a great investment of time.
Barcelona, Spain: 2018 Spannabis Symposium and Expo, March 9-11. With approximately 250 exhibitors, 7,000 professionals and 30,000 visitors over the three days of the event, Spannabis is definitely a Spanish (ok, Catalonian) vibed show: lively, innovative and a little bit wild. Spain has a fascinating medical and recreational history and ecosystem, and it was great to learn more about it first-hand.
Tel Aviv, Israel: 2018 CannaTech Israel, March 19-20. CannaTech is a smaller, well-curated event largely attended by industry professionals. An ambitious program with sessions held concurrently on two stages meant there was a lot to take in, with a global line-up of industry experts, scientists and advocates speaking on a wide variety of topics. It was great to hear more about the medical cannabis R&D Israel is involved in.
Berlin, Germany: 2018 International Cannabis Business Conference (ICBC), April 11-13. JMCC participated as an exhibitor in the relatively small expo but what it lacked in size was more than offset by the range of industry, scientific and government speakers and delegates from across Europe, North, Central and South America and further afield. A well-thought out program and professional vibe with lively networking events.
Toronto, Ontario, Canada: LIFT Business Conference & Expo, May 25-27. JMCC participated as a Title Sponsor, and (as noted above) JMCC CEO Diane Scott spoke in a joint session with Dr. the Hon. Andrew Wheatley, Jamaica’s Minister of Science, Energy & Technology. Our biggest take-away? Lift just gets better every year with more industry representatives from around the world considering it a “must attend” event.
Look for news on JMCC’s event plans for the second half of 2018 in the next issue of Cannabis Connection.