Are you into the science of cannabis?
No, for real though—do you bore people with your excitedly long-winded ravings abut weed, using fancy 75-cent words? Are graphs, charts, and PowerPoint presentations about cannabis what makes you happy?
Then it’s time to go, get your geek on, go, get your geek on—at the return of next week’s Cannabis Science Conference, which bills itself as „the world’s largest and most technical cannabis science expo, [pulling] together cannabis industry experts, instrument manufacturers, testing labs, research scientists, medical practitioners, policy makers and interested novices… aimed at improving cannabis science.”
I’m keeping it 100 when I reveal that this conference is not for the casual cannabis fan. Bongs will not be for sale in the exhibit hall, and the focus on business-to-business is prevalent throughout. Many of the speakers make me keenly aware that I did not apply myself enough in science classes, which in no way dampens my enthusiasm for them or their wide array of topics. The conference is set up with three tracks of programming: Analytical, Cultivation, and Medical, offering two days of speakers with a tremendous number of presentations. The schedule keeps things moving, with nearly all talks and presentations between 20 and 30 minutes.
There is also a day-long Canna Boot Camp, a „full-day, hands-on pre-conference workshop with 15 companies educating attendees on many aspects of cannabis cultivation, processing, extractions and analytical testing.”
And this year’s keynote speaker is one that I will be throwing elbows to get a photo with after her talk, so you’ve been warned—cutting in front of me in the photo line will get you cut. I saw Grease 12 times, so don’t play with me on this.
Olivia Newton-John and her husband, Amazon John Easterling, will be speaking about Newton’s use of cannabis in her battle with breast cancer, which began in 1992. Newton-John told MedPage that she was „able to wean herself off the morphine by using marijuana, primarily cannabis oil. She claims it also is helping her with anxiety and sleep. 'I really believe the cannabis has made a huge difference. If I don’t take the drops, I can feel the pain, so I know it’s working.'” Her husband successfully treated his own health issues with cannabis, and partners this belief in cannabis as medicine with 28 years of rainforest plant medicine research.
The Cannabis Science Conference goes down September 4-6 at the Oregon Convention Center (777 NE MLK). Get more info here.