The value of one cannabis business professional helping another goes without parallel, especially in an industry that is still finding its footing. Sometimes a simple tip could be the steering difference between a thriving business or a collapsing one.

While there are thousands of plant-touching cannabis companies with proven practices and myriad success stories throughout the world, business leaders and entrepreneurs in the space continue to adapt as the industry matures.

Popular practices in the industry represent only a fraction of the knowledge attendees of this year’s Cannabis Conference will gain during the three-day event Aug. 24-26 at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel and Casino. The Super Early Bird Registration, which expires April 30, ranges from $149-$499. The wisdom gained is priceless.

The event includes 85,000 square feet of exhibit space and 40-plus speaker sessions (on four tracks) to learn from the best in the business, including leaders from some of the largest cannabis companies in the world, like Curaleaf and Cresco Labs; as well as leading policy advocates from reform organizations like Marijuana Policy Project; and craft cannabis operators like Mason Walker, the CEO of East Fork Cultivars in Oregon.

Walker will be teaming up with Julia Jacobson, CEO of California-based Aster Farms, in the session “Outdoor Cultivation Strategies for Environmental Variables and Disaster Preparedness.” Walker and his East Fork team fought wildfires near their property last year, while Jacobson and her team had to rebuild after the Mendocino Complex Fire in 2018. They both can offer personal perspectives on not only erratic occurrences but also what it means to expect the unexpected when it comes to safeguarding outdoor crops.

In the session “Creating a Winning License Application,” Cresco Labs Associate General Counsel Erin Alexander will detail one of the most critical steps in launching a business. Every cannabis company starts somewhere, and Alexander can provide an inside look on how a vertically integrated multistate operator has navigated the complex license application process, and how the same principles can apply for a start-up company.

In the session “Federal Cannabis Legalization in the United States: What Will it Mean?” Steven Hawkins, the executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project, will highlight some of the impacts associated with ending prohibition nationwide. Federal legalization’s ripple effect of both intended and unintended consequences will alter the course of the industry, and Hawkins, who is also the interim president and CEO of the U.S. Cannabis Council, can shed light on how top-down reform could shift the regulatory and competitive landscapes.

And in the session “Future of Cannabis as a Consumer Packaged Good,” Mark Russ, the West Region president of multistate operator Curaleaf, will provide 20/20 vision on how companies can get a head start on their competition as the industry moves toward building an omnichannel retail strategy that attracts new consumers through new shopping experiences—from bricks-and-mortar to mobile browsing and everything in between. Overseeing operations of Curaleaf brands in six states, Russ can provide context into breaking the barrier of state-by-state business models for companies gearing for growth and expansion.

Again, Cannabis Conference offers 40-plus such sessions as the industry’s one must-attend event of the year. The industry is on course to bank more than $20 billion in U.S. cannabis sales in 2021—this is a chance to be a part of it.  

­-Tony Lange, Associate Editor