{"id":17031,"date":"2017-06-14T11:53:13","date_gmt":"2017-06-14T19:53:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2017\/06\/14\/ncia-cannabis-business-summit-expo-in-oakland-day-two\/"},"modified":"2017-06-14T22:27:08","modified_gmt":"2017-06-15T06:27:08","slug":"ncia-cannabis-business-summit-expo-in-oakland-day-two","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2017\/06\/14\/ncia-cannabis-business-summit-expo-in-oakland-day-two\/","title":{"rendered":"NCIA Cannabis Business Summit & Expo in Oakland: Day Two"},"content":{"rendered":"

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4,500 participants at the fourth annual NCIA\u00a0mega-conference woke up in Oakland \u2014 a newly rechristened city of champions following the Golden State Warriors\u2019 NBA Finals victory \u2014 and embarked on a day filled with\u00a0industry\u00a0leaders, celebration of the past year\u2019s success and excitement for the future. The first full day of panels and workshops at NCIA was opened by Executive Director, Aaron Smith, who explained the purpose of the business organization; to advance business interests \u2014the NCIA is made up of 1,300 member businesses in 13 different states \u2014 but also to promote cannabis decriminalization as a social justice and freedom movement. \u201cBelieve it or not cannabis is still illegal under federal law,\u201d he said, adding that the roughly $7 billion industry is uprooting \u201ccriminal drug cartels here at home and south of the border.\u201d Smith went on to say that Prop 64 makes California the largest legal cannabis market in the world, citing the one in five people who now live in a state with a full legal cannabis market. He pointed to\u00a0the hard lessons of the 2012 federal raid on Oaksterdam University and urged attendees to be good neighbors and actively participate in their community. \u201cIt\u2019s absolutely imperative that you keep out in the open,\u201d he said. The NCIA is working to remove or reform several business barriers currently confronting the cannabis industry, including Section 280E of the federal tax code \u2014 which bars cannabis business from deducting most basic business expenses, massively increasing their tax burden \u2014 and ending the banking crisis. But its main purpose is to tax and regulate marijuana across the country in a manner similar\u00a0to alcohol. Smith said he thinks cannabis could be regulated on the federal level within four to five years and encouraged businesses to push for open markets, citing the ways a market-driven approach has allowed the huge cannabis industry in California to flourish. \u201cWork for open access for all entrepreneurs who are responsible in this industry,\u201d he said. Next was the day\u2019s keynote speaker, Vincente Fox, former president of Mexico. Fox described the ravages of America\u2019s War on Drugs in Mexico, citing that social destruction as the main reason he is pro-legalization and pro-individual responsibility. He pointed to the\u00a0number of countries that have embraced marijuana internationally, noting that last year Mexico itself passed a medical marijuana program. \u201cThis will go on,\u201d he said. \u201cIt will scale to the future if we\u2019re very responsible with our decisions.\u201d Calling the Trump Administration an \u201cextreme of an extreme,\u201d Fox called for cannabis to be distributed across borders without taxes. Later, during a Q & A session, he said he hopes the U.S. eventually imports cannabis from Mexico, just as it now imports other agricultural goods like tomatoes and avocados. \u201cThis product cannabis has to be integrated to NAFTA,\u201d he said. \u201cNow the market is opening and it\u2019s waiting for us\u2026 This nation with asphyxiate itself behind four walls.\u201d Open markets, he said, facilitate the dream of many cannabis industry entrepreneurs who start small\u2026
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