Meadowlands 2020: Closing Remarks

Thank you for attending the 3rd annual Meadowlands! Thank you for showing up and contributing. All of you add a special something to the community, and this weekend wouldn't have been possible without your support and your presence

We are a community steeped in gatherings and collaboration. We have always shown up and come together. This year was different. We can't physically be together, even when we need each other more than ever. Being isolated from the community takes a toll. But this weekend we did gather. You showed up and took a seat at the table. More than 600 of you showed up over the last 4 days. More than 110 leaders shared stories and knowledge and ideas and inspiration. We connected with friends, met new allies, supported each other, and reinforced our bonds.

We gather because our roots are strong and because we are interconnected. You would think a 350-foot Redwood tree would need deep roots, but that's not the case. Redwood roots are only five-six feet deep. They make up for it in width and reach, sometimes extending more than 100 feet from the trunk. This gives them tremendous stability and strength against forces of nature like high winds and raging floods. It gives them the foundation to grow and thrive for over a thousand years. We showed this weekend that our roots are resilient, wide, and far-reaching. They grow in an ecosystem that supports and nurtures, where energy is harnessed for abundance.

We've created our own meadow. Full of life, striving for balance, open and abundant, weathering seasons and cycles, and growing together. When we find this harmony and alignment, we thrive.

Cannabis became essential in California this year because our roots were so strong and our ecosystem was so supportive. We moved mountains this year, and every one of you played a role.

What else can we do when we all sit at the table to find alignment and a unified vision? The possibilities are endless. This weekend we've seen dedication to harnessing cannabis as a force for healing and for good. We are doing business with intention and purpose. We are changing minds and shaping the conversation. We are doing what no other industry has done before.

We are all in on making social equity successful. We know we must go beyond licensing to bring education, healing, and support to communities devastated by the War on Drugs. Black lives matter. Brown lives matter. If you have the good fortune of being able to consume cannabis in peace and make a profit from this plant, let's share that abundance by reinvesting time, energy, and resources back into communities most harmed by prohibition. Let's keep fighting the good fight.

We are all in on Compassion and keeping the mission of heroes like Dennie Peron and Brownie Mary alive.

We are all in to support small and craft businesses. To keep California cannabis the best in the world.

We are all in to create an industry where we find balance and alignment and thrive together.

We are all in to be stewards of the earth and the plant that brought us together, to fight for her. We are asking this plant what it needs and wants for us, for our communities, for the healing of the planet. Let's keep listening to her.

This alignment will keep us moving forward. We'll have some tough times ahead for sure. But what we do will set the course for the next 10, 50, 100 years. The decade ahead is full of possibilities and the trajectory is being set now. So let's stay connected. Let's learn as fast as possible from each other and from other industries so we can build an ecosystem of abundance. It's time to activate and to move forward with purpose and intention. Together, we'll go far.

Once again, thank you all. We're closing out Meadowlands 2020 strong with a final gathering and smoke sesh. We can't hug it out, so instead, we're going to smoke it out (or eat, drink, dab, drop, vape it out). We have a lot of work ahead, but we also have a lot to celebrate. So let's light one up for cannabis being ESSENTIAL.

Let's light one up for the social justice warriors.

Let's light one up for Dennis Peron and Brownie Mary and everyone carrying on their legacy.

Let's light one up for the incredible craft, innovation, and creativity we're seeing in California cannabis.

Let's light one up for every member of our community who showed up this weekend.

Let's light one up for everyone who can't be here.

Let's keep working together, smoking together, listening to each other, and growing together.

Sending lots of love and good vibes to you all from Meadow.