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Benzinga\u2019s Cannabis Capital Conference (CCC) is considered North America\u2019s leading cannabis investment and branding conference. The fall 2024 iteration took place Oct. 8-9 in Chicago with more than 2,000 people showing up for two days of incredible content, social equity initiatives and calls to get out and vote.<\/p>\n
Javier Hasse, Benzinga\u2019s managing director, says more than 3,000 meetings took place through their networking platform, and the feedback has been amazing. \u201cMany of these connections are already fueling new partnerships and growth,\u201d he commented. \u201cWith speakers like Ross Gerber and a consumption-friendly afterparty that was fully Illinois-compliant, it was a powerful event all around.\u201d<\/p>\n Overall, spirits at the conference were high, and the outlook toward the future was optimistic. With the election now just a few days away, we look back on some of the conversations and insights shared by several business leaders in attendance.<\/p>\n Cansortium<\/a> CEO Robert Beasley now has four Benzinga events under this belt and says each one is better than the last. \u201cThey get better and better, bigger and bigger,\u201d he says. \u201cThe profile of the connections that you make here is continuing to evolve. I think it\u2019s more valuable today for me than it has been in the past. As the profile changes, as the sophistication of the of the entities that are here changes, it\u2019s become a place that you know you\u2019re going to meet industry contacts that you want to talk to, and some that you didn\u2019t even know you needed to talk to. It\u2019s a great opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n When it comes to how the election could impact cannabis, Beasley predicts that, regardless of who our next president is, the cannabis industry will continue to make progress.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we\u2019ve turned one of the corners. That\u2019s the neat thing about being in a frontier business\u2014there will be more corners ahead. And right now, we\u2019re on a positive slope,\u201d he says. \u201cThere\u2019s a general good vibe coming into the elections that both candidates support descheduling, which is what everyone is hoping for. Whether that\u2019s going to be the magic answer or not, I have no idea.\u201d<\/p>\n Heather Malloy, co-founder and managing partner of the cannabis investment and advisory group, Speedwell Partners<\/a>, is a regular attendee of Benzinga\u2019s Chicago and Florida conferences and says they are by far the most valuable conferences she attends.<\/p>\n \u201cI always opt for in-person meetings and never have the chance to sit in on as many panels as I\u2019d like,\u201d she says. \u201cSo many organic meetings happen when everyone is in one place, and that\u2019s my favorite part of being there.\u201d<\/p>\n Looking ahead, Malloy doesn\u2019t predict significant change coming out of the 2024 election.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d bet that family offices and retail will be more comfortable stepping into (or back into) the capital markets,\u201d she commented. \u201cHowever, I don\u2019t believe the expected catalysts of Florida and Schedule 3 are enough to bring back institutional capital. \u00a0We need regulatory and executive moves to facilitate uplisting, custody and offer clarity for banking, payments and capital markets.\u00a0 I think real volume and institutional participation will take longer to develop.\u201d<\/p>\n This fall\u2019s Chicago event was Willy Vlasic\u2019s third time attending Benzinga. Vlasic is the CEO and co-founder of Vlasic Bioscience, which sells Vlasic Labs<\/a> CBD products as well as Vlasic Flower in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n Vlasic Bioscience was founded on the same principles and values that built the Vlasic Pickles brand: quality, consistency and innovation. With a strong entrepreneurial background, we were curious to hear about Vlasic\u2019s experience at Benzinga. In general, Vlasic says he attends to \u201ccome and network with the community, and to do it in a highly professional way with all the deal makers.\u201d<\/p>\n Beyond networking with other CEOs and making new financial connections, Vlasic says he also enjoys seeing customers and supporting friends: \u201cA lot of my colleagues and customers are speaking on panels here.\u201d<\/p>\n One of the most well-attended panels at Benzinga was titled \u201cHemp Vs. Marijuana.\u201d As someone who sells both regulated cannabis on the state level and CBD-only hemp products (non-intoxicating), Vlasic believes hemp should be regulated like cannabis, and the hemp industry should stay away from intoxicating products.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s all sorts of opinions on it. At the end of the day, we need to regulate hemp like cannabis, and we need to leave the intoxicating cannabinoids with the THC businesses on the state level,\u201d Vlasic states. \u201cIt\u2019s impossible to regulate children getting access to it, especially with the online presence that it has now, and in the smoke shops. None of those stores are being regulated. So, you know, I do feel strongly that we need to leave the hemp industry to be non-intoxicating products like CBD, CBG, CBN.\u201d<\/p>\n Kevin Adelstein, is one of the original investors of Glass House<\/a>, before the company went public. October\u2019s Chicago event was his first time attending Benzinga, and he couldn\u2019t be more excited. \u201cI\u2019ve met so many people that I\u2019ve been following and who I have been reading their materials, and I\u2019ve been able to shake their hand and talk to them, so it\u2019s hugely exciting for me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Regarding the emerging hemp industry, Adelstein says it\u2019s not great for the cannabis space: \u201cI feel it\u2019s a negative right now because it\u2019s unregulated. And since the plant doesn\u2019t know the difference between hemp and marijuana, I mean, we have to set up some rules for it.\u201d<\/p>\n When it comes to investing in hemp, Adelstein does recognize financial opportunity. \u201cFrom a growth standpoint, it\u2019s definitely investable, and if it was contained and controlled, I think that it\u2019s viable as an investment because one it can be transported across different states,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Adelstein also remains optimistic about investing in cannabis. \u201cI feel that things just have to change. They will change\u2014it\u2019s just a matter of when,\u201d he states. \u201cAnd of course, everyone feels that it\u2019s on the verge now, and I don\u2019t want to be on the sidelines when it happens. So, I continue to invest on a regular basis in the companies that I like the most.\u201d<\/p>\n Andrew Petronanos is the founder and CEO of Dascoli Pharma<\/a> in Switzerland. The company was founded in 2022 following a change in Switzerland\u2019s laws allowing greater flexibility around medical cannabis prescriptions. Soon after launching, the business also acquired a pharmacy to achieve their goal and mission to create access to medical cannabis.<\/p>\n Currently focused on raising capital for future expansion across Switzerland, Petronanos attended Benzinga for the first time with hopes of making new financial connections.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been amazing. There\u2019s actually a huge difference between what happens in Europe and the conversations here, because here it\u2019s very political, large capital state regulations and the rest of it, but it\u2019s been fascinating,\u201d he says. \u201cI mean, I\u2019ve met some friends that I\u2019ve known for a long time. It\u2019s great for me to exchange with the U.S. and tell them what\u2019s happening in Switzerland and Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n Everyone at last month\u2019s Chicago conference has smiles on their faces and seemed excited for the future. The ideal size of around 2,000 attendees made it feel small enough to make meaningful connections but also large enough to meet someone unexpected.<\/p>\n Hasse comments that the Benzinga Awards were another event highlight, especially honoring industry changemakers like 40 Tons. Next up, Benzinga heads to Anaheim on Nov. 12 for their California Cannabis Market Spotlight.<\/p>\n The post Benzinga Chicago Cannabis Capital Conference 2024 Event Recap<\/a> appeared first on Cannabis Now<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Benzinga\u2019s Cannabis Capital Conference (CCC) is considered North America\u2019s leading cannabis investment and branding conference. The fall 2024 iteration took place Oct. 8-9 in Chicago with more than 2,000 people showing up for two days of incredible content, social equity initiatives and calls to get out and vote. Javier Hasse,Continue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":78829,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[16147,50,2544,69,22],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78828"}],"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\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=78828"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78828\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":78830,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78828\/revisions\/78830"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/78829"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78828"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78828"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78828"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cannabisnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/benzinga-panel.jpeg\")
Insider Perspective<\/h3>\n
Cansortium<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Speedwell Partners<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Vlasic Bioscience<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Glass House<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Dascoli Pharma<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Event Highlights<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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\nRead More: Benzinga Chicago Cannabis Capital Conference 2024 Event Recap<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"