EVENTS
FUTURE CANNABIS STRATEGIES
EUROPE CONFERENCE
JANUARY 29 & 30, LONDON.
BY RÓISÍN DELANEY
Vapouround was proud media partner
to the UK’s first dedicated cannabis
conference in London at the end of January.
The event was well-planned, with speakers
taking to the stage from all over the world,
focusing on the potential for the European
CBD market. Stigma, misconceptions and
regulation dominated throughout. Here, we’ve
summed up the highlights of the two-day
intensive event, which covered every aspect
of the budding CBD industry.
Research and regulation
Neil Hendry, Head of Consulting at GlobalData
Consumer opened the two-day conference
and chaired the various panel discussions
which took place. The amendment to the
Novel Food Regulations in Europe had
everyone talking. This announcement
coincidentally came the same morning
Europe’s CBD enthusiasts were flocking to
Chelsea for this event. Neil addressed this,
more specifically, on the topic of stigma and
understanding CBD, which is something both the CBD and vape
industries know too well:
“One of the key things to appreciate is a large amount of consumers
are going to have negative opinions. It’s something the industry
has to get over.”
What can help the industry combat stigma? Research, the
conference chair said. “If it can be shown that CBD can fortify
products and help reduce health expenditure, it will move towards
a regulatory environment.”
One trend Neil identified is the medicinal cannabis route. He said:
“Government attitudes are evolving, with widespread approval for
medicinal use.” The chair also pointed out that already, there are,
“60 clinical trials ongoing,” which are looking for signs that CBD may
help in treating pain, alcohol addiction, multiple sclerosis (MS) and
weening people off of opiates.
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