ExpoWeed: the largest cannabis culture festival in Latin America is this weekend

ExpoWeed was the first fair, meeting, festival of cannabis culture in Latin America. This weekend it celebrates its eighth version, but due to the pause it had in the pandemic, this event is more than a decade old.

The cannabis festival in Chile is a benchmark in Latin America. “In addition to being a party, it is an important political event in the region,” Claudio Venegas, director of the event, tells us. Venegas emphasizes that “we must take the issue of cannabis to the right path.” Since, in Chile in recent years, the leader feels that it has only been approached from drug trafficking and in a bad way.

We must end drug trafficking and regulate

“Police efforts should focus on the black market, and we agree. We must put an end to drug trafficking, but the numbers of arrests show us that the most persecuted have been the consumers”, he adds. In this regard, Venegas tells us that these spaces that show the cannabis culture show “where we have to move forward.” “A well-structured legalization, with clear laws and spaces for self-cultivation or regulated trade, reduces the space for the black market,” he adds.

An example of that, says the leader, is that in countries where marijuana use has been regulated, drug trafficking has lost strength “because it must go hand in hand with strong control.”

three green holidays

After a break of almost 3 years, the first and most important cannabis fair in Latin America reopens its doors and does so in what has been its home since 2012: Parque O ́Higgins in Santiago de Chile. It will be three days, starting today, Friday, October 21.

In this eighth version it is expected to break all the records of calls because this year “we are flourishing again”, thus confirming that this event is the most important of its kind on the continent. That is why for this 2022 the bet is much greater than in its previous version, and the lineup of artists has been expanded, with national and international guests, attractions, activists and civil society organizations and guests.

At the Cáñamo Fórum (Teatro la Cúpula), a space for debate, dialogue and entertainment at Expoweed, prominent personalities from the international cannabis industry, deputies, senators, mayors, scientists and experts in medical cannabis, activists and industry influencers.

On this space in particular, Venegas highlights the presence of a. former right-wing Chilean deputy, Mario Desbordes of RN. “He was a former presidential candidate, and it is often thought that this debate is not present on the right, so it is important that he be part of this panel,” he described.

Confirmed bands and musicians

During the three days that the Expoweed blooms in the O’Higgins Park, you can enjoy different artists in each of the days.

This year more bands and artists have been included. The schedule for these 3 days is as follows:

● FRIDAY 21: 420 BACKYARD BATTLE – SOULFÍA – PABLO CHILL-E

● SATURDAY 22: SFDK – SANTAFERIA

● SUNDAY 23: LOS CAFRES – THE THREE

great track record

Expoweed was born in Chile at the end of 2012, becoming the first cannabis fair in the region.
It emerges as a space for meeting, information, dialogue and education around cannabis culture and the legal uses of the plant, from the most diverse perspectives: cultural, medicinal, industrial, scientific, political and social.

And also, it sought to become the most important place for the development of the cane industry in the region. Over the years, this fair placed Chile on the world circuit of the most important fairs in the field, becoming a benchmark in the continent and a true tradition and national pride.