Jim Belushi is headed to B.C. to headline a cannabis conference

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Jim Belushi

 

Actor-turned-cannabis farmer will "discuss the passions that spurred his entry into cannabis."

Jim Belushi will be heading north to attend the Victoria, B.C. edition of Grow Up Conference and Expo this June.

The 67-year-old actor is the founder of Belushi’s Farm — a sprawling 93 acres along the Rogue River in Oregon where Belushi spends much of his time after reportedly selling his Los Angeles mansion for about $38 million late last year.

Belushi’s current series, Growing Belushi, which airs on Discovery, brings viewers into “Jim’s world and shows the incredible effort it takes to build a legal cannabis operation,” Grow Up notes.

And Belushi has had plenty to contend with over the past year or so, from trying to get rid of weed-snacking critters to getting an impromptu visit from Guy Fieri and tweeting a snap of his topless form in a bid to bolster viewership of the series, whose second season kicked off in January.

Beyond sharing his journey to create Belushi’s Farms, the actor “will discuss the passions that spurred his entry into cannabis and the challenges he’s faced in growing and remaining nimble in an ever-changing industry,” notes a statement from the conference.

Having lost his brother John to a drug overdose in 1982 — citing Dan Aykroyd in a tweet four decades later that had John been “a pot head, he’d still be here today” — Belushi is “a passionate proponent of the plant’s beneficial properties across a spectrum of uses,” including enhancing quality of life and managing pain.

As such, he is an advocate “for patient rights and adult-use legalization while empowering craft farmers to thrive in economies of scale,” the conference reports.

Belushi is also working with scientists and the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission and Portland City Council to create an opioid trade program where people, including veterans, can access “a place for healing for low to no cost.” Additionally, he sits on the board of the Last Prisoner Project, a non-profit organization dedicated to cannabis criminal justice reform.

Set for June 20-22, the conference and expo offer attendees more than 100 speakers, expert panels, workshops and interactive demonstrations.

There will also be The Psychedelic Summit. “Experts in psychedelics will cover intellectual property, inspection, quality control and distribution, with the panel looking ahead to a legal, regulated future for psychedelics,” notes the conference statement.

This year marks the first time that the conference, which is usually held in Niagara Falls, is heading to the west coast.

“With a rich cannabis history and culture in the west, it is a natural hub to host top experts to gather, learn, network and discuss how the industry moves forward,” conference president Randy Rowe says in the statement.

Organizers expect the event to attract 3,000-plus industry experts, businesses and professionals.

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