Recap of the Inaugural Cannabis Culture & Change Conference in West Hollywood

The day-long Feb. 28 event ended with a rousing call to action: ‘Come out for cannabis,’ urges Emerald Village’s executive director, ‘Sunlight is a disinfectant’

By Adam Tschorn for Emerald Village West Hollywood

The inaugural Cannabis Culture & Change Conference, which took place on February 28 in the West Hollywood city council chambers, brought together politicians, activists and business owners for a day-long event focusing on the city’s unique position at the intersection of the LGBTQ+ rights and cannabis movements —  specifically what the latter could learn from the former in the ongoing fight for wider-spread normalization, legalization and destigmatization. 

Kicking things off at 11 a.m. — and keeping things on track throughout as master of ceremonies — was comedian Ngaio Bealum, who began by introducing a series of high-profile politicians including Mayor John Heilman, Vice Mayor Danny Hang, and city councilmember John Erickson, each of whom made brief remarks in support of the plant. 

The last — and most high-profile — pol to take the stage was California State Treasurer (and candidate for lieutenant governor) Fiona Ma, who said she shared the cannabis industry’s frustrations over tax issues (including high tax rates and 280e — the federal tax code provision that prohibits cannabis businesses from deducting ordinary business expenses) and the lack of access to banking. She also said the time was ripe for action at the state level.

“I think Prop. 64 is a big failure and we need to change it,” Ma said to enthusiastic applause. “I spoke at a conference about six months ago and said: ‘If you guys want to reform Prop. 64, I will help you, I will work with you,’ because I think right now the [state] legislature is very progressive and they want to see California lead in so many areas, especially given that we're going to have structural deficit over the next few years. And we basically strangled the golden goose where we thought this was going to be one of our top industries. We were number one 10 years ago, and now I don't even know whether we’re in last place or what [in comparison to] all the other states. And that’s a shame.”

Then Beau Whitney, chief economist for Portland, Ore.-based Whitney Economics took the stage as a featured speaker.  His data-rich presentation looked at the state of the cannabis industry in California (takeaway: it’s not great), offered some business wisdom to handle the chaotic operating environment (“I’m advising my clients to stay the course but be nimble, flexible and ready to pivot”) and shared some super-interesting insight about the brand value of the Golden State’s largest cash crop.

“We've done a comparison of the brand value of Napa Valley wines versus cannabis from the three Emerald Triangle counties,” Whitney said. “And the brand value of the cannabis there is greater than the brand value of the entire Napa Valley wine scene. That’s the power of the California brand — and that needs to be celebrated, not controlled, in my opinion.”

Next up was the first of the day’s three panel discussions —  Science and Economics of Medical Cannabis — featuring dispensary owner Jason Beck, podcast host Sara Payan, Dr. Terry Church from USC’s Mann School of Pharmacy with Sam Mistrano from USC’s Suzanne Dvorak School of Social Work as moderator. The biggest takeaway from that robust discussion? That the potential reclassification of cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III at the federal level would unleash a cascade of benefits for both the scientists who study it as well as the patients who rely on it. Payan drew applause for her pointed critique that “THC taxes are bullshit.” 

After a brief on-stage Q-and-A between emcee Bealum and L.A. County Assessor Jeffrey Prang, the day’s second panel — Design and Storytelling — kicked off, with Budist co-founder and CEO Jocelyn Sheltraw moderating a discussion between Sküt (the artist behind the West Hollyweed Fun Map), Artist Tree dispensary founder Lauren Fontein and Jake Stevens, SVP at the WeHo real estate firm Faring. Their biggest takeaway: the upscale look and feel of the city’s cannabis infrastructure  — from the design of maps to the dispensary and lounge interiors  — is a powerful shaper of public perception that extends far beyond its borders, and one that is likely to become even more so with events like the World Cup, 2027 Super Bowl and 2028 Olympics on the horizon. As Stevens summed it up: “[West Hollywood has] the opportunity to set a global benchmark.”

The final panel discussion of the day — Gay Liberation & Cannabis Legalization — featured West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce president & CEO Len Lanzi facilitating a wide-ranging conversation between the executive director and president of LA NORML Ian Rassman, former West Hollywood mayor John D’Amico and founder of the Brownie Mary Democrats Lanny Swerdlow. Their general consensus? That creating any kind of substantial change in the cannabis space — from decreased tax rates or wider legalization requires increased political involvement in the form of both coalition building and raising money. 

After that, Emerald Village West Hollywood Executive Director Scott Schmidt offered closing remarks that tied the panel takeaways and featured speakers’ insights together and issued a rousing call to action. Titled Come Out for Cannabis, it urged the industry’s movers and shakers to take a page from the playbook of the gay rights activists in the city and beyond to move the needle. 

“The one tried-and-true strategy that cannabis can learn from gay and lesbian people is really simple,” Schmidt said, “and it's something that each and every of us in this room can do starting today: Come out for cannabis. Come out for cannabis and tell your story. Come out for cannabis and talk about what the plant does for you and how safe and affordable access every day matters in your life. … talk to your local, state, federal leaders and ask them to take meaningful action together.”

For any attendees motivated to heed that call but might be unsure of what that might look like in practice, the film screening that followed after a short dinner break provided an extremely powerful example. Presented by Queer in Cannabis founder Rich Magaña, the documentary “Join the Club” (directed by Kip Andersen and Chris O'Connell, and written by Paul Marchand) focused on the work of the late cannabis activist Dennis Peron. Motivated by his desire to help HIV/AIDS patients and spurred on by the loss of his partner Jonathan West to AIDS in 1990, Peron became the enthusiastic leader of the movement that resulted in California's 1996 passage of landmark medical marijuana legislation.

The film illustrates just how daunting it was to be “out of the cannabis closet” in the years before legalization and underscores how important all-hands-on-deck involvement was to the success of the movement. And it ends with Peron’s own powerful words that, while plucked from a 2010 interview, are even more important to remember given today’s current political climate.

“Love wins,” Peron says as he looks into the camera. “Love wins.”

Adam Tschorn is an award-winning journalist, cannabis culture writer and pen for hire who can be found online at adamtschorn.com.