Skip to main content

Roger Stone Yanked as Cannabis Conference Keynoter

Submitted by Phillip Smith on (Issue #990)
Drug War Issues
Politics & Advocacy

Long-time Republican political trickster and Donald Trump advisor Roger Stone's gig as the keynote speaker at Los Angeles and Boston marijuana expos has been canceled after news of his participation roiled the cannabis community.

Roger Stone is persona non grata to many in the pot industry. (Wikimedia)
The Cannabis World Congress and Business Exposition (CWCBExpo) had selected the white-haired provocateur to address the two marijuana business conferences after Stone came out for legalization early this summer. But Stone's pro-legalization stance wasn't enough to protect him from charges of racism, misogyny, and being too close to Trump, who rode his own racist dog whistles to the White House.

Once the announcement of Stone's participation was made, numerous speakers and exhibitors announced a boycott of CWCBExpo led by the Minority Cannabis Business Alliance, whose members loudly withdrew from the conference.

By last Wednesday, CWCBExpo had had enough of the controversy.

"Following collaborative discussions with numerous partners, participants and interested parties who support the legalization of cannabis in an inclusive manner, Cannabis World Congress & Business Expositions, (CWCBExpo) is announcing that Roger Stone will no longer be featured as a keynote speaker at the upcoming CWCBExpo events in Los Angeles and Boston," the organizers announced in a news release.

Stone's presence would work counter to the expo's goals, they said. The conference's forums "are crucial to the growth and legalization of the cannabis industry and they supersede the distractions that have surrounded the events," the release said.

Stone, of course, wasn't taking the snub lying down. He told the LA Weekly he would sue CWCBExpo.

"Sad day for the First Amendment," Mr. Stone told the newspaper. "The expo is in breach of contract. I will be suing them for $1 million. I will not be deterred from my efforts to persuade the president to preserve access to legal medicinal marijuana consistent with his pledge to the American people."

Don't be too worried about the prankster, though: Stone already has another gig lined up. He just started a new internet and radio program on InfoWars, home of Trump supporter and far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.

Permission to Reprint: This content is licensed under a modified Creative Commons Attribution license. Content of a purely educational nature in Drug War Chronicle appear courtesy of DRCNet Foundation, unless otherwise noted.

Comments

Karl Burkhalter (not verified)

This Civil War Part II, must not interfer with our message, Disparaging CSA and the code of Chivalry for which it stood, hurts our cause; Surgeon rather than Attorney General control of ALL Drug markets. Harrison 1914 was Racist to the core, but is example of Monopolies and Robber Barron opposition to Labor Unions rather than "Lost Cause." Southern MDs put up spirited opposition to this Federal Mandate out of long standing distrust of Federal Authority. amd is from that resisrance the DPA exists. Those who add racial component to CSA are misguided, misinformed or disingenuous.

Fri, 09/15/2017 - 3:21pm Permalink

Add new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.