Cannabis Collaborative Conference (CCC)
Portland | February 3–4
Created for the industry, by the industry. This is a strong statement from Cannabis Collaborative Conference (previously the Cannabis Creative Conference) founder Mary Lou Burton, as she described the expo held in celebration of a growing and successful industry.
“I learned that there was a need for a cannabis expo in Oregon,” Burton explained to DOPE, a founding sponsor. “In January, after Oregon voted to legalize, we decided to move forward with the idea. The first Cannabis Creative Conference was July 29 and 30, 2015. Our goal was 600 attendees in a professional B2B conference, featuring over 60 speakers and Steve Marks from OLCC as our keynote. Noah Stokes from CannaGuard Security and William Simpson with Chalice Farms jumped on board as founding sponsors and created our show theme, ‘Created by the industry, for the industry.’
“Our goal was to do a drill-down of what the recreational cannabis would be in Oregon, as far as rules and laws. We featured local expert speakers including attorneys, cultivation experts, and ancillary businesses. We brought in speakers from Colorado and Washington to share their knowledge and experiences. We were blown away when over 1,200 showed up.”
The next CCC occurs at the Portland Expo Center on February 3 and 4. They are expecting about 3,500 attendees and will feature over 60 industry speakers and more than 50 exhibitors with displays, including MRX Labs, Chalice Farms, and CannaGuard Security.
Attendees can expect networking, interactive workshops, a job fair, and more. New features of the event include cannabis tracking system (CTS) workshops held by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC). Franwell will also hold sessions and demonstrations.
Join CCC at their pre-event, Marijuana Investors Summit Boot Camp, on February 2. This is designed for those who currently own a business in the industry or are looking to start one. Leading this series will be entrepreneurs who have found success in the industry as well as financial experts.
“This conference will also feature a career readiness event,” Burton explained. “There will be top cannabis recruiters interviewing for job positions within all facets of the industry from entry-level to executive positions. There will be 30 educational modules from leaders in the industry, over 80 exhibits and hands-on displays, and tons of opportunities to network.”
“It is so exciting to be part of what many are calling the ‘wild, wild West,’” Burton added. “I was asked how I decided to get involved with this new and still controversial industry. My reply was that, I believe there will never be anything like this in our kids’ or grandkids’ generation. I also believe that the tax dollars that are and will be generated from this new industry will help our schools and mental health system. I am really enjoying this industry. There is a quality to this industry that I have not seen in other industries; people really do care and want to help others. The medical benefits and stories that I have heard are truly amazing. This little plant is such an incredible resource.”
CannaCon
Seattle | February 18–20
CannaCon founder Bob Smart is excited for this year’s expo, as last year’s had nearly 11,000 registered attendees. This year, its third in Seattle, has 332 exhibitor spaces. There will also be live music and a dozen of Seattle’s best food trucks serving at the event.
“We have a ton of new seminars coming up this year,” Smart said. “What we do at the seminars is just straight up question and answer. Like with Ed Rosenthal, he is going to just answer questions for an hour. We have law, tax, and debating panels that are going to do the same thing.”
Smart is personally looking forward to the panel simultaneously featuring the Liquor Control Board, the Department of Agriculture, and the Washington Department of Health. The Department of Agriculture will also be holding pesticide classes that count towards certification.
There will be a substantial increase of user products this year, such as live glass blowing, high-end vape products, and quality glass items. At the last February show, there were 34 retail stores open, Smart said. By this year’s February show there will be 170, allowing retailers to view an abundance of products to feature in their stores. These products will be available directly to the user from the manufacturer at the show.
“There is also an all-day budtender course occurring on the Saturday of the event,” Smart added. “There is no certified program yet, but our attendees who complete the course attain a budtender certificate. So at least when a person takes the whole class and gains the certificate, their employer will see they know more than the average.”
Smart is also excited for CannaCon’s job fair and is proud of the event’s large size and the number of exhibitors, products, and services under one roof.
“We will be holding a CannaCon Lifestyle expo this September, which will feature all products,” Smart said. “This is not a business show, like the one coming up, but a lifestyle show. There won’t be lighting companies, for example, but there will be cooking classes, clothing, pipes, and vapes.”
DOPE Industry Awards
Portland | February 27
DOPE chief branding officer and executive event producer James Zachodni described the publication’s awards show that began in 2012 and what makes it unique and special to the industry.
“What’s special about this awards show in comparison to most cannabis cup events that are centered around the plant and all the products that come from the plant, including concentrates, edibles, and the like, is that there was not much attention given to the actual businesses and people in the industry, so we decided to be the first one three years ago. We wanted to make sure the stores, budtenders, growers, and others who make our industry go round and round got their moment to shine.”
One clear positive aspect of DOPE’s awards ceremony is that all recipients are voted upon by the public. No buyouts, no bribes. It is public opinion and a public vote.
“We want people to know that,” Zachodni explained. “The people who are nominated can get their fans engaged and make sure they show some love. Even with the nominations, those who are voted upon are also publicly chosen as well. So really, the whole thing is a public vote. It really gives people a snapshot of those who are doing a really good job in the industry. It’s not just about who is selling the most pot, which is easy to figure out. We want people to say, ‘Well, it may not be the biggest and fanciest store in the city, but they have the best staff or the best community outreach,’ which to us, is what people should be recognized for.”
The awards show will be rolled out in a couple more states in 2016, kicking off on February 27 in Oregon. For the past few years, the show has only been held in Washington. It is now growing into a regionalized award show within each state and a national one that takes the winners from each state, and then a much larger “grand finale” type show in Las Vegas, Zachodni explained.
Marijuana Investors Summit
San Francisco | March 3–5
Ready for a great cannabis debate? Marijuana Investors Summit co-founder David Friedman is.
“This time around, we are much more focused on academic and politicians than we were last time around,” Friedman said. This year’s expo will be held at the Hilton Union Square from March 3 to 5. “We are really looking forward to bringing dialogue to the summit, so it will attain a life after the summit, so that hopefully it will direct some policy. We are going to have a debate. I believe we are going to call it ‘The Great Marijuana Debate.’ It is going to be sponsored and moderated by ProCon.org. We are hoping to get a couple of pro and con speakers in order to hold a debate around the legalization and some real dialogue, because part of investing and the Marijuana Investor’s Summit is understanding the risk. There’s a lot of risk in it. We don’t just want to be cheering positively about cannabis all the time. We want to educate people about investment opportunities and risks. I get questions concerning legalization, bills, and rulings all the time and I don’t know the answers to all of them, so we want to put everybody in a room [where] people can ask questions and the right people can answer them.”
The post Take a Trip: Top National Expos and Conventions for 2016 appeared first on Dope Magazine.