Alex Rogers: “Portugal's future in the cannabis industry is to serve the entire European market”

Alex Rogers founded the International Cannabis Business Conference (ICBC) in 2014, after setting up a medical cannabis clinic in Oregon, United States of America (USA). The vision of a globally interconnected industry eventually brought him to Europe, where he bet on making ICBC one of the biggest B2B (business to business) events.

The magazine High Times wrote last year that the first thing you see in Alex Rogers, no matter where and when you meet him, is “this tall, rangy, handsome GI Joe “cannapreneur,” with the incredible ability to connect simply, effectively, and often colorful – no matter who you are.” The most famous cannabis magazine still defines Rogers as "if anything, one of the 'old school' who also managed to evolve with an industry that is still changing".

If there's one thing that Alex Rogers know how to do well is to enjoy life to the fullest. The next event he is organizing is the ICBC Retreat, a retreat for investors on the 22nd and 23rd of September, in Rovinj, Croatia. The retreat will take place at Rovinj Grand Park, a 5-star hotel, and will include a poolside after-party with DJ Muggs from Cypress Hill. However, the video summarizing ICBC Berlin was recently posted on social media, to highlight the event's most important moments and remind attendees that more is to come next year: Barcelona, ​​March 9th and Berlin, again, June 27th-30th 2023.

We spoke briefly with Alex Rogers during ICBC, in Berlin, last July and we got to know a little more about his trajectory and how he sees the cannabis industry in Europe, without forgetting Portugal.

Alex is the main organizer of ICBC. How did your relationship with cannabis begin and how did the idea to create this event come about?
Cannabis has been a part of my life for a long time. I started organizing events in the 90s, doing hip-hop events. I've always liked parties and when my parents left town, at 16, I was already throwing parties for my colleagues at my house and other things, which were kind of forbidden, but super fun, when no one was doing it. So I always held gatherings, meetings and parties. And I was already in the cannabis industry. I have a medical cannabis clinic in Oregon and eventually all of my patients – I'm not a doctor, I just have doctors who work for me – at the clinic were looking for more information about the industry as the business grew and as they eventually legalized cannabis in Oregon. And so, I started the Oregon Cannabis Business Conference and knew I could combine what I was doing at the clinic with my event experience. I started the business conference and what it did was it exploded and it was very successful. And I was like, "Oh my God, I can do events and really take them to the next level in the cannabis industry." And then I realized right away that I wanted to go international, because nobody was international, and so I started the International Cannabis Business Conference (ICBC) in 2014, with the vision that cannabis would be legalized and regulated all over the world. I knew I wanted to make Europe my main focus, because I thought that would be the next market, and Germany in particular. So we started our first ICBC in Berlin in 2017 and this year 2022 is actually our fifth edition.

What are the main highlights you make about this event? How many participants and how many stands?
About 2.500 participants, 125 stands, more than 200 sponsors… is by far the biggest business-to-business (B2B) event in Europe. It is growing. What I highlight is that there are people from over 75 different countries here. I am a global citizen, also a universal citizen and I like different cultures, different people. I like to have my brain stimulated throughout the day, talking in different languages ​​and learning things about different places and cultures, meeting people and getting information that I wouldn't get if I were just talking to the same people in the same community, which is great. I'm not criticizing people who enjoy being within their community. I think we all like to be with familiar things, but getting out of my zone, being unknown and learning things about the world, for me is absolutely fascinating.

Being from the US, how do you see the cannabis industry in Europe?
So, that's the vision: I brought something that is already happening in America. Now, for the first time, ICBC Berlin 2022, as a trade fair, is bringing that American element to Europe. So the analogy is extremely similar, what is happening in America to what is happening in Europe. Some of the dynamics are different, in terms of who is legalizing at the federal level. Of course, in the United States, we only have legalization by states and Canada was big for a while, mainly with medicinal, and so on, but the tenor and the general trajectory of the market is extremely similar.

Cannareporter is based in Portugal, what do you know about our country?
I know that Portugal is one of the best countries in Europe. In my opinion, the best countries in Europe are Slovenia, Croatia and Portugal. And I've never been to Portugal, but I tell people that all the time, because I read statistics about Portugal. I talk to people who live in Portugal, I talk to expats who live in Portugal, I read the statistics in terms of how safe a country like Portugal is. I think it's really important these days that families can thrive, and if you don't live in a safe community, it's hard for families to thrive. So I can only assume that Portugal still considers family very important and this is something that I hold dear and safe in my heart.

Did you know that Portugal is one of the biggest cannabis producers?
Oh yeah. Well, I mean, in terms of cannabis, they have a bit of a head start. They are doing things that other people are not and I think that the market is now, in fact, focused on Portugal. I think, clearly, Portugal's future in the cannabis industry is to serve the European market.