The music industry has SXSW, tech has CES, the comics industry has Comicon and weed has MJBizCon.<\/p>\n
Held every November in Las Vegas,\u00a0MJBizCon<\/a>\u00a0is the most-dominant cannabis business-to-business conference. But what began as a trade show for cultivators and manufacturers to connect with machinery, packaging and other ancillary companies has turned into a full-blown party for the industry. With the green rush sweeping the nation and cannabis now recreationally legal in Sin City,\u00a0MJBizCon has become the place to be for anyone who\u2019s anyone in the cannabis business as well as everyone who\u2019s trying to break in. Cannabis professionals are now joined by entrepreneurs, investors, influencers and enthusiasts from all over the world who fly in to network, to shop equipment and brands and now, more than ever, to party.<\/p>\n While the expo broke record attendance,\u00a0with 27,000 in attendance<\/a>, numerous people flew in just for parties and meetings and didn\u2019t even step foot on the conference floor. The show is so big that if you\u2019re flying from a cannabiz haven like the Bay Area, you\u2019re guaranteed to bump into multiple colleagues on your flight and find yourself trading cards with new connections before the plane lands.<\/p>\n From that first flight to the last event of three-day show, the vibe at MJBizCon is reminiscent of when the\u00a0Grateful Dead\u00a0<\/a>plays a town for three days and it feels like there is nothing but Deadheads everywhere you turn. In the old days, the crowds even looked similar, but not today. One of the biggest complaints you\u2019ll overhear from any cannabis OG is how there are \u201cso many suits now.\u201d And if there\u2019s one thing those in flannels and flat brims don\u2019t trust, it\u2019s suits. Don\u2019t blame them. The facade of the green rush, and yes, the green rush\u00a0is<\/i>\u00a0a facade right now, has men hailing from Canada to Wall Street out in Vegas looking to wheel, deal, acquire companies and in some opinions, steal ideas. The division was palatable at the\u00a0MJBizCon\u00a0in an \u201cus versus them\u201d vibe. The good news is it seems the cannabis industry is stronger and more united than ever. This report is from \u201cus.\u201d<\/p>\n I ran into\u00a0Bloom Farms<\/a>\u00a0in the Cosmo lobby and learned they just pledged commitment to working with a minimum of 50 percent female cultivators, yay!<\/p>\n (Pro Tip: Always stay at the Cosmo, because you\u2019ll run into cannabis legends in the lobby, but even more so for the balconies where you can smoke.)<\/p>\n Hitting the conference floor, I reconnected with influencers like\u00a0Alice Moon<\/a>\u00a0and industry bad*ss\u00a0Luna Stower<\/a>, leading ladies of cannabis for years, both recently settling into new professional roles. Another common theme I noticed this year was learning where everyone is working now. The first year of legalization in California has shaken up the industry, with many companies going out of businesses and talented people bouncing from one brand to another.<\/p>\n As a branding and marketing professional, there wasn\u2019t much for me to see on the expo floor aside from the occasional packaging or hardware company. This massive conference floor is for true B2B with cultivators and manufacturers on clear missions \u2014 find the best extraction technology, a new preroll machine or latest grow enhancements.<\/p>\n (Pro Tip: If you\u2019re new to cannabiz, you can find everything you need to start your business at\u00a0MJBizCon.)<\/p>\n On the contrary to the corporate vibe of the convention center were the over-the-top parties. It seems that marketing budgets are finally bountiful as every night were multiple overlapping events hosted by brands, media companies, PR agencies, even testing labs.\u00a0Willie\u2019s Reserve<\/a>\u00a0hosted guests in a giant mansion complete with food and drinks as well as a flower bar bud-tended by weed celebs like\u00a0Jane West<\/a>. Also included was a vintage denim shop with live patch sewing all night and even a tattoo artist, all 100 percent free. Shout out for my new tattoo!<\/p>\n (Pro Tip: Never miss a Willie\u2019s Reserve Party.)<\/p>\n From there I hit the event that featured\u00a0Snoop Dogg<\/a>\u00a0as D.J. and partied bottle-service-style with\u00a0DOPE magazine<\/a>. While the party was very heavily male-dominated, dancing on tables with weed fashion icons\u00a0Ladies of Paradise<\/a>\u00a0smoking joints like we owned the place, with Snoop spinning all my favorite anthems had me feeling like the night belonged to the women of weed.<\/p>\n (Pro Tip: Don\u2019t let your bosses make you feel like you can\u2019t dance on a table, with integrity and class.)<\/p>\n Anywhere else but Vegas, one may call it night at 2 a.m., but instead I hopped into a pink stretch Hummer limo with pals from\u00a0Guild Extracts<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Humboldt Brothers<\/a>. And thus the first strip club of the trip was hit.\u00a0MJBizCon\u00a0can have a very\u00a0Burning Man<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0Jazzfest\u00a0<\/a>vibe, as in \u201cjust ride the wave\u201d and go with the flow.<\/p>\n (Pro Tip: Stretch limos are great for vapes, only. Pro Tip #2: Always party with Guild Extracts, they go hard.)<\/p>\n Thursday morning, Cannabis Now and\u00a0Tress Capital<\/a>\u00a0hosted a private screening of Cannabis Now TV for\u00a0Steve DeAngelo<\/a>\u00a0in a suite at the Cosmo. Naturally, we all smoked various types of cannabis on the balcony before previewing the never-before-seen footage of Publisher Eugenio Garcia experiencing\u00a0CannaTech<\/a>\u00a0with DeAngelo in Israel. I thought the episode was brilliant and eye-opening, a perfect reminder of while\u00a0MJBizCon\u00a0feels big, our cannabis movement is far larger than most are aware.<\/p>\n (Pro Tip: Never miss a moment with Steve DeAngelo. Priceless knowledge and inspiration are abundant in his words and presence.)<\/p>\n Back at the Convention Center, just in time for 4:20 p.m., I ran into pals from\u00a0Meadow<\/a>,\u00a0Doc Green\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0High Times<\/a>.\u00a0Harry Resin<\/a>\u00a0had his\u00a0Puffco<\/a>\u00a0Peak and we were dabbing diamonds in no time, right outside the main entrance on the concrete, with pride. What a beautiful time to be alive!<\/p>\n (Pro Tip:\u00a0Puffco Peaks<\/a>\u00a0are truly the best dab rig for on-the-go.)<\/p>\n Ready to roll out, I realized that was going to take some maneuvering as the roads and parking lots were over congested by everyone trying to get their ubers to the next event. So I teamed up with hash legend\u00a0Frenchy Cannoli<\/a>\u00a0to share a Lyft out. Another magical\u00a0MJBizCon\u00a0moment.<\/p>\n Arriving at yet another giant mansion, this time for High Times, I was greeted by an epic food spread, multiple bars with booze and one bar serving pre-packaged cannabis beverages \u2014 finally, yay! Again, this party felt overly male-dominated, so I posted up by the pool with my own dabs and vapes.<\/p>\n (Pro Tip: Always bring your own weed everywhere. Or is that just a NorCal thing?)<\/p>\n After a trip back to the Cosmo and quick change, I was on a limo headed to\u00a0Brooklyn Bowl<\/a>\u00a0for the High Times party. I bowled, ate, drank and danced to\u00a02 Chainz<\/a>, but security was not having any smoking inside that club. Receiving the death stare after firing up with\u00a0Wolfie<\/a>, I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever put out and hid a blunt so fast in my life. However, the balconies of Brooklyn Bowl seemed to have a more relaxed vibe. Trying to do it all, I was headed to the DOPE Magazine Golden Ticket party when I was intercepted by Colorado comrades and redirected to Cannabis in Wonderland.<\/p>\n After another suite rage with\u00a0Ladies of Paradise<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Zoe Wilder<\/a>, I was ready to call it a night. I took myself back to the Cosmo, packed my bags and hit my bed with a swell of gratitude, joy and accomplishment. How lucky are we to get to blaze this trail alongside one another. How incredible is it to be alive right now as the revolution is just getting started. I am already excited for next year.<\/p>\n TELL US,<\/b>\u00a0did you attend\u00a0MJBizCon<\/a>?<\/p>\n The post An Insider\u2019s Guide to the Parties at\u00a0MJBizCon<\/a> appeared first on Cannabis Now<\/a>.<\/p>\n
The music industry has SXSW, tech has CES, the comics industry has Comicon and weed has MJBizCon. Held every November in Las Vegas,\u00a0MJBizCon\u00a0is the most-dominant cannabis business-to-business conference. But what began as a trade show for cultivators and manufacturers to connect with machinery, packaging and other ancillary companies has turnedContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":246,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6549,50,6550,2724,6551,6552,1317,119,6553,228,6554,2372,239,1845,6555,6556],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30763"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/246"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30763"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30763\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30764,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30763\/revisions\/30764"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30763"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30763"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30763"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nRead More: An Insider\u2019s Guide to the Parties at\u00a0MJBizCon<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"