V International Social Cannabis Forum

Expogrow, Irun’s cannabis festival

One of the main cannabis events in Europe has just celebrated its fifth edition. More than 17.000 visitors and 1.200 professionals of the cannabis sector gathered once again in Irun, 200 metres away from the French border. Despite the horrible weather, thousands of people visited the fairground, 60% of them being French.

Among the 175 booths, the visitor could meet:

• Distributors of cannabis seeds of reputed seed companies like Serious Seeds, Dinafem, Barney’s Farm, CBD Crew and his breeder Shantibaba and the French guys from French Touch Seeds.
• Grow Shops and manufacturers of growing equipment like hydroponic systems, LED grow lights, pot plants, etc.
• Vaporizer companies that allowed the visitors to test their vaping devices for cannabis
• Manufacturers of nutrients for cannabis plants like Canna, GHE, BioTabs, Terralba or GP Biotechnology.
• Trimmers and machines for harvesting cannabis plants like Trimpro, Master Trimmer or Oruga Verde.
• Cannabis media: Undergrow TV, Cáñamo, Cannabis Magazine, Soft Secrets and the French Mama Editions with Michka.
• Cannabis-based products from brands like Green Industries, LaKaraba or Cannashock.
• Professionals of cannabinoid extractions with closed loop systems: BHOgart/Excalibur, Purge Labs, Across.

Kalapa Clinic was also present so all visitors could talk to Dr. Mariano García de Palau, also obtain legal assistance from specialists like THC Abogados. As always, Grassroots had its booth as usual, while the guys from OG Krunch offered samples of their bud-shaped chocolates, one of them enriched with terpenes of the renowned OG Kush. Mascotte organized a joint rolling contest to find the fastest hands of the event.

Another very interesting aspect of Irun’s fair is the space available for both Spanish and French cannabis associations so they can meet and share thoughts, ideas and strategies. Sadly, on this occasion this space was located between the healthcare booth and the free fall simulator, so it was not visible and truly noisy. However, many activists met there, especially French: members of the Chanvre & Libertés association, Farid from Cannabis Sans Frontières, Laurent Appel (ASUD), Bruno from CIRC Nantes, Philippe from Principes-Actifs or Jean-Louis from Chanvre-Info.

Among the visitors, we could also met professionals of the cannabis sector. People like Nicolas Trainerbees, famous for his cannabis honey rich in THC. Also, the guys from Parke de Extracciones – specialists on cannabis concentrates – were the envy of many guys who saw their box of samples, absolutely spectacular.

As happened on the past edition, Friday morning was a B2B session (business to businnes), a very nice opportunity for professionals to meet other colleagues and close deals. This should be a must on every cannabis event, since it allows professionals to focus on business for one day, and then spend the rest of the weekend with all customers and friends. As always, all visitors left the fair with bags full of all type of gifts: cannabis seeds, nutrient samples, herb grinders, rolling paper, etc.

Alchimia and Philosopher Seeds at Expogrow

Plenty of people visited us at Alchimia’s and Philosopher Seeds booth, so we could chat about genetics, gardening, extracts, etc. Also, all visitors could enjoy some popcorn and get a ticket to participate in our Camel Race. This is a very popular game in Catalonia’s fairs, in which 18 contesters must shoot balls inside holes to make their camel advance through the track. Lots of prizes were given, among them a trip to Andalucía!

We must thank all the suppliers and companies for their collaboration and all the gifts given to the visitors of the event and the participants of the Camel race: Plagron, Zerum, Natural System, Can Fan, Can filter, Hortitec, Biobbiz, Eltac, Grotek, Biotabs, Growth Technology, Grassomatic, World of seeds, Delicious, Samsara, Ripper Seeds, Kannavape, Royal Queen Seeds, Medical Seeds, Pyramid Seeds, Sweet Seeds, CBD Botanic, Kannabia, Budhha Seeds, Fast Buds, Fuzion, Hy-pro, Superstrains, Cajas Fum, Reggae Seeds, Blimburn Seeds, Vaporite, Genehtik, Positronics, Pure Seeds, Dinafem, Green Hope, Eva seeds, Neutralizer, Parke de extracciones, Resin Seeds, Elite Seeds, French Touch Seeds, Paisa Grow Seeds, Expogrow, TH Seeds, Dutch Passion Seeds, Green Passion Seeds, Vitrovit, DNA Seeds, Barney’s Farm Seeds, Mr. Nice Seeds, Female Seeds, Devil Harvest, My CBD and Cannabeer.

The Camel Race was open during the day but also at night, so people could have fun while listening to concerts. We all could enjoy the performances of artists like Muchachito or El Langui, who presented a new medical strain against pain based on Sour Diesel and Haze genetics. Biga Ranx, Sara Lugo, Scarecrow and Inna Modja completed the concert schedule.

Besides all this, we could also enjoy a Graffiti contest, a free fall simulator, slackline, Chico Requena and his monologues, or a glassblowing exhibition where artists like Bryan Dosher, Jolex Glass or DOK Glass created amazing glass bubblers.

V International Social Cannabis Forum

For the fifth consecutive year, a number of conferences were held at the Ficoba fairground, where the speaker discussed about the topic of the regulation of cannabis or the therapeutic properties of this plant. The Forum was sponsored by Canna and the Alchimia Solidària Foundation. Unfortunately, the number of visitors was not as high as we’d liked, since these type of events are truly necessary to change the situation of cannabis and should get all the support they deserve.

We want to thank all speakers and participants of the Forum, people like Ana María Gazmuri, Zara Snapp, Carola Pérez, Cristina Sanchez, Nuria Calzada and also Louise Levayer, a young French woman who just came back from Uruguay where she’s fighting for the legalisation of marijuana.