The many members of the Legal Cannabis Coalition (LCC) visit multiple cannabis-related events, in different countries around the world. During some of these events, LCC members set up an individual booth, or give a company presentation on stage. At other events, the LCC is clearly presented as a coalition of collaborating experts, like at the Greentech in Amsterdam. In this way the international visibility of the LCC has steadily increased since we started working as a collective in early 2020.
‘Meet the LCC’
Over the years, the ambitions of the LCC have grown, and we started dreaming about organizing our own event. Initially called ‘Meet the LCC’, the idea was to introduce all LCC members to an audience full of cannabis professionals, in a country with an interesting cannabis market. In April this year, with Covid restrictions almost gone, we were finally ready to organize such an international event, and the location we selected was Lisbon, Portugal. The one-day symposium took place on the 20th of April – also known as 4/20 – a famous date among cannabis enthusiasts around the world.
Portugal
Why Portugal? It has a well-regulated medicinal cannabis market with 18 Licensed Producers currently active, opportunities for export to other EU countries, and a desire to legalize recreational cannabis use in the near future. Also, multiple LCC members have local offices or existing cannabis clients in the country, helping us to understand the needs of the Portuguese market. And we found a great local organizing partner in WISE Healthcare Solutions, a consulting firm with connections to almost all Portuguese LPs. As a reference to the wide range of knowledge and experience that was covered by our program, we finally titled the event: Bringing together the best cannabis knowledge of Portugal and The Netherlands.
Impression of the day
Most LCC members were able to join us on this exciting trip, and together we gave a detailed overview of the many solutions we can offer to the cannabis market: from preparation, to cultivation, to product development. Over 100 cannabis growers, scientists, medical professionals, journalists, product developers, and more signed up for the event, taking place at the beautiful Cultural Center of Belem in Lisbon. After a general introduction to the aims and objectives of the LCC, each presenter had 20 minutes to introduce his company, products and services. Additionally, Portuguese LP Key Leaves was invited to share its experiences of setting up a cannabis cultivation site in Portugal, and the benefits of working together with knowledge partners like the LCC. These two articles written by Cannareporter and MMJ Daily will give you a good impression of the day.
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This was the first LCC event I’ve attended, and it surely won’t be my last. The collection of professionals offering seed-to-sale services, equipment and practical lessons, was informative -from the starter levels to the most experienced. It was great to reconnect with vendors I have known for years, but also to see many of the growers and manufacturers that are working with us in this industry – all in one intimate and impactful event.”
Michael Sassano SOMAÍ Pharmaceuticals
Surveys
It is fair to conclude that the first ‘Meet the LCC’ day was a great success. How do we know? A survey done at the end of the day was filled in by over 80 participants, and the response was overwhelmingly positive. An often heard comment was that the information offered was practical, useful and applicable to most people in the room. As indicated in their surveys, most participants showed an interest to get in contact with LCC members to receive more information. In the weeks after the symposium, all this information has been shared with the LCC members, and is now available on the LCC drive. And just as important: LCC members were able to share dinner and make a toast together, after a long period of Covid-induced separation. In Lisbon, we finally had the time and opportunity to grow the LCC as a professional and social network, with fun, laughter, and drinks.
What’s next?
The experiences of this event will be used to organize more LCC events in other countries. Since the German cannabis industry is one of the fastest growing and most profitable in Europe, we look forward to organising our ‘Meet the LCC – Germany’ in spring 2023.
Do you have another good idea? Please let us know and we will consider your suggestion.
