There can’t be much that better illustrates the mainstreaming of cannabis in North American culture than an industry “trade show” at which two world-class athletes endorse the product and muse about a day when pot companies will sponsor pro sports arenas.With the Liberal government recently promising to legalize marijuana by Canada Day 2018, the era of marijuana Prohibition is over, Olympic gold medallist Ross Rebagliati told the O’Cannabiz Conference and Expo in Toronto on Saturday.“Where cannabis is going to be available in the future is everywhere,” Rebagliati said.“Any restaurant is going to have a chef that’s going to know how to infuse the food (with certain doses) … Just like when you go to a Thai restaurant and there’s like the one pepper or two peppers or three peppers.” Rick Barry, named one of the 50 greatest NBA players of all time, said the cannabis industry is “an incredible opportunity for people to get involved in a business, to be able to make some money, and really be doing some good for people.”Barry lives in Colorado Springs, Colo., and meets lots of U.S. veterans who use marijuana “to survive and enjoy life a little bit after the things they’ve been through.”For Rebagliati, the distinction between medical and recreational use is really a concocted debate to “ease it into the corporate world” and society at large.“We’re going through a massive educational period right now,” he said. “The average person isn’t even comfortable being at a trade show like this.”Anyone hoping to find a stoner scene worthy of a Jeff Spiccoli pipe dream at the conference would be disappointed. There have been political conventions less clear-headed and organized.The expo of all things weed was all business, high tech and had the buzz of any budding enterprise where fortunes might to be made. It was al ...
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