The second edition of the ExpoCannabis Brazil which should attract, in three days, more than 40 thousand visitors. The organizers set out to show the public that the use of cannabis goes far beyond medicine, which allows treatments, for example, with cannabidiol oil, also known as CBD oil, and the plant is a raw material in sectors such as fashion, decoration, fertilizers and construction . 
The biggest fair in cannabis of Latin America has, in its programming, workshops and free massage sessions with essential oils, yoga and meditation classes. There will also be a food court and forums that will address legislation, medicinal use and business in the sector. Among the musical attractions, artists Dawn Penn and Horace Andy stand out.
According to the event organizers, the goal is to take the business fair to cannabis not to those who are already “converted”, that is, who have already been convinced of the effectiveness of medicines produced with the plant, but to make other people, including those who still have prejudice, have contact with concrete aspects of the application in the most diverse contexts. In general, the lack of acceptance is related to the recreational use of marijuana, which becomes the target of moral judgment from more conservative wings.
The public will be able to learn about applications of cannabis within the scope of medicine, veterinary medicine and dentistry, as the event will include explanations from representatives of companies operating in these sectors and a schedule of lectures. Visitors will also have the opportunity to see and handle items such as bricks and paper made with hemp, which is nothing more than a “cousin” of marijuana and can be used to obtain fibers used by the biofuel and textile industries, among other sectors.
Maria Eugenia Riscala has a sister with autism and, for that reason, in 2015, she began to gather as much information about the plant as she could. Today, she is one of the partners and CEO of Kaya Minda nucleus that emerged with the purpose of offering abundant data on the various applications of cannabis sativthe. One of the aspects that demonstrate the company’s commitment to cannabis regulation is precisely the way it decided to act: with governments or other companies.
“For those who are in doubt about whether or not they are cultivating in Brazil, it is worth seeing that the number of requests for habeas corpus at the Superior Court of Justice this year. Even though it is a low base, it is a high percentage, reaching the STJ. Imagine the judge there having to count the individual use for 15 plants. That’s why the Court is discussing something broader today, because it’s impossible for us to overload the Judiciary like that”, says the businesswoman.
Maria Eugênia refers to the court session, held on Wednesday (13), in which the ministers decided authorize the import of seeds and the cultivation of cannabis (marijuana) exclusively for medicinal, pharmaceutical and industrial purposes.
Lack of knowledge about the plant is general, says businesswoman. Photo – lovingimages/ Pixabay
The businesswoman comments that the lack of knowledge about the plant is general, including distorted assessments about the economic potential of its derivatives. As evidence of this, he mentions that, in four years of existence, the company he heads has a portfolio of more than 100 clients. The website exceeds the mark of 100 thousand hits per month, as it has established itself as a reliable source of information.
Upon realizing the data gap and the demand for it, Kaya’s founders understood that it would be necessary to restructure the team and assign employees to perform this role. “A lot of people think it’s a market with few people, but, in fact, it’s huge,” says the CEO.
Directory
According to the yearbook produced by Kaya Mind, there was, in the period 2023 and 2024 alone, an increase of 34% in the number of companies in the segment in Brazil. By analyzing more than 6,000 products and more than 1.5 companies, in work that lasted more than a year, they found that, in the country, the silk market, an essential item for both rolling tobacco and for the consumption of cannabis, moved R$300 million this year.
Like his partner, Thiago Cardoso states that regulation should be a priority for the country’s authorities and that the prohibition of substance use has not been sufficient to inhibit it. “How Brazil managed to reduce the cigarette consumption? With public policy”, he states.
Spokesperson for ExpoCannabis Uruguay, Mercedes Ponce de León said that the fact that the country was the first in the world to legalize productionthe distribution and sale of marijuana, in 2013, the regulation was not ideal. “The first one is not expected to be good”, he pointed out.
Mercedes stated that the regulation had the effect expected by the Uruguayan government. “It caused minors to stop consuming.”
Director of research at the Agronomic Institute (IAC), linked to the government of São Paulo, Alessandra Alves, said that it is necessary for the academic community to follow the agenda of cannabisfor the countless possibilities it has. “It’s a plant and, as a plant, agriculture has to start getting involved. As researchers, we have to anticipate, so, when [a regulamentação] arrive, we already have solutions to present to the sector.”
According to the fair’s creators, the cannabis market generates more than R$1 billion in headshops, growshops and associated brands. In Brazil alone, more than 600,000 patients are treated with medicinal cannabis and 2.8 million adults regularly use marijuana.
