The second annual O’Cannabiz Conference and Expo brought thousands of cannabis industry professionals, investors, patients and consumers together in Toronto mere weeks before cannabis legalization is supposed to take place across Canada.

The Conference took place last week over the course of three days at Toronto’s International Centre. Over 200 cannabis business exhibitors featured their products and services on the expo floor while over 130 industry professionals lead various seminars and panel discussions to highlight important aspects of the industry, from legislation to new trends in cannabis cosmetics.

An event like O’Cannabiz marks a historical moment in Canada where a substance that has for decades been demonized around the world is entering the mainstream market. Canada will be the first G7 country to legalize adult use, recreational cannabis, which is certainly cause for celebration. In the same breath, O’Cannabiz and similar events provide a platform to raise awareness about the injustice inflicted on those who have been punished for their involvement with cannabis prior to legalization.

Canadian cannabis rights activist and politician, Jodie Emery spoke at O’Cannabiz on Saturday before participating in a panel discussion called, Post-Prohibition: What a Pot-Friendly Canada Means.

Emery prefaced the discussion by speaking about some of her own harrowing experiences with the criminal law.

“For many of us at these events, it’s exciting, it’s celebratory and I remember these feeling well for many other events, but I can tell you that you’re not in my shoes.”

Most recently, Jodie and her husband Marc Emery, were arrested at Pearson International Airport. Their Cannabis Culture shops were raided, leading to a number of charges. She was convicted of possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking and possession of proceeds of crime over $5,000.

Aside from her own run-ins with the law, Jodie is a voice for anyone who has been punished by the cannabis laws currently in place.

 “What about the people who are still being arrested today? What about the people who are still losing their kids, their jobs? What about the guys who have to take a drug test at work and they’re the best worker there, but they failed the test?” Emery asked the crowd. “We need to look at cannabis for what it is – a lifesaving substance that does far more good than harm, and we need to look at where that harm comes from, and it’s enormously caused by criminal law.”

The discussions and exhibition that took place at O’Cannabiz last week show the strides the industry has taken out of the black market and into the limelight, but these events also mean facing the past and doing right by the new laws that will come into effect once cannabis is legal.

O’Cannabiz has been confirmed to take place again next year from June 7 to June 9.