Melbourne will host the medicinal cannabis sector next month for the ACannabis conference, with organisers confirming a lineup of speakers and sessions as the agenda for the three-day gathering begins to take form.
Time is running short for those wanting to lock in reduced-rate registration, as earlybird pricing ends next Tuesday, July 7.
The event runs from August 10 to 12 at the Crowne Promenade, with an industry awards night set to take place on the evening of August 11 at the Plaza Ballroom, marking a wider celebration of the sector.
As the industry navigates a period of significant shift, organisers have chosen 'cultivating trust, navigating change' as the theme for this year's conference, now in its seventh edition.
Across the three days, attendees will hear from regulators, executives, growers, pharmacists, researchers and policy specialists as the sector works through mounting competition, tightening oversight and the prospect of regulatory reform.
The advisory and compliance day opening proceedings on August 10 will run across three tracks: a business leadership forum – featuring a conversation on mergers and acquisitions between Little Green Pharma CEO Paul Long and Yongji Health director Jackie Wu – alongside two further streams dedicated to manufacturing and cultivation.
The main conference then opens with a look at the latest sector data, presented by Honalee co-founder Tom Brown, Penington Institute policy officer Rhys Cohen and NostraData general manager Nick Biggs.
That will be followed by a session examining what medicinal cannabis can take from the experiences of other complementary medicine, alcohol and nicotine sectors, before an executive panel considers where the Australian medicinal cannabis industry is headed over the next five years. Taking part will be Paul Long, Medigrowth CEO Adam Guskich, ECS Botanics MD and CEO Nan Maree Schoerie, and Medical Cannabis Australia founder and MD Sharon Bentley.
Later that day, newly-appointed Medicinal Cannabis Council Australia CEO Gail Morgan will look back on her organisation's first six months, with a subsequent session seeing the MCCA board discuss what lies ahead for the industry.
Day two turns to one of the sector's most urgent challenges: securing the long-term future of local growers amid rising import volumes.
Chaired by Puro co-founder Tom Forrest, the discussion brings together Golden Days co-founder Sacha La Forgia, Breathe Life Sciences business development manager James Yodgee, Hale Farm director Cade Turland and Puro New Zealand co-founder Sank MacFarlane.
Afternoon sessions on day two will include presentations from the Therapeutic Goods Administration, the Office of Drug Control and the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency, before discussion turns to the responsibilities placed on pharmacies.
Register now to secure earlybird tickets for the conference.
Tickets for the industry awards night can be purchased here.
