Pubdate: Wed, 16 Jul 2014
Source: Oregonian, The (Portland, OR)
Copyright: 2014 The Oregonian
Contact:  http://www.oregonlive.com/oregonian/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/324
Author: Noelle Crombie

MARIJUANA CONFERENCE IN PORTLAND TO FEATURE ANDREW SULLIVAN

Author and blogger Andrew Sullivan will give the keynote address at an
international marijuana conference in Portland this fall.

The International Cannabis Business Conference will be held Sept. 13
and 14 at the Oregon Convention Center.

Sullivan, who wrote "Here Comes the Groom: A (Conservative) Case for Gay
Marriage" and "Virtually Normal: An Argument About Homosexuality" has
written about legalizing marijuana. Four years ago, he published "The
Cannabis Closet: First Hand Accounts Of The Marijuana Mainstream," a
collection of testimonials from his readers.

"His brand of conservatism has led him to become one of the most
articulate advocates for ending cannabis prohibition today,"
organizers Anthony Johnson and Alex Rogers said in an email announcing
Sullivan's appearance.

Said Johnson: "I am very excited that the cannabis industry will have an
opportunity to learn from someone who is unafraid to speak his mind and
to forge his own path in politics and business."

Johnson, executive director of the Oregon Cannabis Industry
Association, is director of New Approach Oregon, the group
spearheading the legalization initiative headed to the fall ballot.

Rogers is CEO of Ashland Alternative Health and Northwest Alternative
Health. He's organized two previous marijuana-related conferences in
Oregon aimed at the state's burgeoning medical marijuana industry.

The conference, which costs $499 to attend, is expected to draw
marijuana industry representatives from the West Coast, Rogers said.

- -- Noelle Crombie 
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jo-D