Dozens of cannabis professionals, regulators, and advocates gathered in Seattle in May to discuss some of the cannabis industry’s most pressing issues. The tenth-annual Cannabis Alliance Summit, the state’s longest-running event of its kind, summoned an impressive and diverse lineup of speakers. Conversations strayed from the airing of grievances common for industry gatherings and instead focused on grounding the collective around a shared purpose: love for the plant and the people who brought the legal industry to where it is today.
Featured speakers included Nina Parks, co-founder of Equity Trade Network and Supernova Women and head of partnerships and community for Stoners Party; Ty Padilla, chief executive officer for Puyallup Tribal Enterprises; Tholo Johnson, a microbiologist at the Washington State Department of Health; and Laury Lucien, education director for the Parabola Center for Law and Policy.
Throughout the event, a handful of topics emerged again and again.
Harms of overregulation
Panelists regularly returned to the notion heavy regulation hurts all. One panelist stated they had “never felt so regulated and discriminated against at the same time.”
A thundering round of applause followed “You can’t have all kinds of rules to protect stupid people.”
Much of the conversation centered around regulators overstepping and overregulating high-potency products. Generally, attendees and speakers agreed excessive regulations serve to infantilize consumers by preemptively assuming they can’t make smart decisions. Panelists frequently contrasted harsh cannabis regulations with those governing the alcohol industry, pointing out few rules exist to stop consumers from drinking in excess, yet high-potency cannabis products often provoke controversy and overregulation.
Regulators need more education
Cannabis industry peers often gather to discuss regulatory issues, but the conversations only rarely include the people who make the rules. That’s why it was refreshing to see people like Trecia Erlich, program manager at the Washington State Department of Agriculture; Johnson from the Washington State Department of Health; and Democratic State Representative Melanie Morgan not just at the event, but also on the stage.
Conversations about the need for more education of and outreach to legislators and regulators were frequent. Padilla of Puyallup Tribal Enterprises emphasized fostering a culture rooted in fear and enforcement above education hurts everyone.
Regulators Johnson and Erlich both clearly stated they function as public servants, not overlords. They affirmed their departments rely on feedback and education from those they regulate — an assertion underscored by their decision to spend an entire day at a cannabis summit. (That the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board chose not to send a representative was not lost on the audience.)
More legacy players at the table
The first panel, Free the Plant, Free the People, focused on “the culture of legal cannabis.” Panelists Morgan, Parks, Minority Cannabis Business Association board member Tommy Ramos, and Leon Verrett of Magnus Premium Cannabis agreed a disconnect exists between multistate operators and local markets, and they criticized a tendency inside and outside the industry to view cannabis users as a homogenous subculture. The panel, moderated by the Cannabis Alliance’s Charlotte Braithwaite, also framed a need to center legacy operators — which they defined as those who worked with cannabis long before the plant’s commodification — in more conversations and policymaking decisions.
Cannabis industry professionals often hear that sentiment but rarely see action follow recognition of the issue.
The big problems aren’t going away
At its core, the cannabis industry has a set of problems that simply can’t be mitigated until federal law changes. Even then, the problems won’t magically disappear. The industry will continue to be heavily regulated and criminalized, with access to capital remaining a huge barrier for those who aren’t multi-state operators with massive budgets.
Acknowledging this truth allowed everyone to focus on other pressing issues, though the effects of these larger, overarching issues are woven into just about every topic.
Change starts with conversation
I admit I arrived at the event early so I could pick a seat at an empty table in the back, hoping to get through the event without speaking. That changed quickly when, after each session, panel moderators consistently encouraged audience members to turn to our tablemates and discuss actionable items. Then, moderators went around the room and had a representative from each table share takeaways from their discussion.
While I groaned internally at the idea of sharing with the class, I have to admit the conversations that came out of this activity were insightful, unique, and only made possible by gently forcing a bunch of people who care about the same things to talk with one another. This resulted in an uncommon atmosphere in which not just speakers, not just event leaders, but the people who showed up to listen and learn got to hear new perspectives from unlikely voices.
The conversations may not have instilled change on a policy level, but they did highlight that nothing will change if cannabis-industry insiders don’t start talking — among themselves and with regulators, legislators, and consumers. That’s why encouraging more legacy players to share their perspectives is crucial and why we need regulators and industry leaders to engage in regular conversations to inform policy.
