The biggest players in cannabis are coming to Oakland this June
More than 4,500 people will flock to the marijuana industry’s most influential business event, a unique gathering of the best minds in cannabis, at the Oakland Marriott City Center in Oakland, Calif., June 12-14.
NCIA’s Cannabis Business Summit® and Expo, named 2016’s Best Business Event by The Denver Post’s Cannabist and one of Trade Show Executive’s Fastest 50 Growing Tradeshows of 2016, returns to Oakland for its 4th annual edition. Featuring presentations from more than 140 of the world’s most influential cannabis leaders, including former President of Mexico Vicente Fox, a whopping 80,000 square feet of sold-out expo floor showcasing 225 exhibitors, and three days of workshops, networking, panels and educational tracks, it’s anything but a run-of-the-mill trade show. By educating, advocating, and organizing industry leaders, Cannabis Business Summit® & Expo invigorates the cannabis community’s collective voice on national policy while teaching best practices in an ever-changing regulatory environment.
“The Cannabis Business Summit as a stellar track record of bringing together decision-makers and innovative companies who understand the marketplace,” said Chris Wrenn, Vice President of Americas Sales at AEssense.
“It’s an incredible opportunity to meet with like-minded cannabis industry colleagues, gain valuable insight into nationwide opportunities, and forge new alliances,” said Karl Keich, Executive Director of Canna Consulting Group, whose involvement in previous Summits led to two new cannabusinesses.
Themed “Cultivating a New Era of Enterprise,” on the heels of the momentous 2016 election, the Summit hosts titans such as Spectrum King LED CEO Rami Vardi, W Vapes Chief Strategy Officer Juli Crockett, Oaksterdam University Provost Dr. Aseem Sappal, and BDS Analytics CEO Roy Bingham. These and more than 100 other thought leaders carefully selected by peer review (not pay-to-play) will provide high-value, curated, advanced agendas through at-large presentations and exhibitions, full and half day workshops and boot camps, and five educational tracks: “The Fine Print: Money, Law, and Your Business,” “Cultivating and Processing,” “Running Your Canna Business,” “Policy and Reform,” and “Leading Edge: Emerging Topics in the Cannabis Industry.”
“It’s a must-attend conference,” said Mary Shapiro, Managing Director of Evoke Law, PC. “The Summit is extremely well organized, accelerates professional and personal networking, delivers quality education for both the experienced and novice, and presents important opportunities to get involved in advocacy to effect legal change to support our industry.”
The National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA), one of the nation’s largest cannabis trade associations, represents more than 1,200 member-businesses, and hosts Cannabis Business Summit® and Expo with the commitment of using all its revenue to support advocacy in Washington, D.C. As a top trade association advocating for cannabis businesses on a federal level, NCIA pushes for a favorable social, economic, and legal climate to make way for a responsible and legitimate cannabis industry across the country.
On March 30, thanks in part to the work of NCIA, a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators and House members introduced seven measures advancing better cannabis policies that covered banking and tax fairness, as well as advocating to treat marijuana more like alcohol.
“The flurry of bills on the Hill are a reflection of the growing support for reform nationally,” said NCIA’s Executive Director Aaron Smith.
“State-legal cannabis businesses have added tens of thousands of jobs, supplanted criminal markets, and generated tens of millions in new tax revenue. States are clearly realizing the benefits of regulating marijuana, and we are glad to see a growing number of federal policy makers are taking notice,” he said.
Through its advocacy, NCIA hopes to make marijuana access safer and more beneficial, especially for patients fighting chronic illnesses like cancer, lupus, epilepsy, hepatitis C, Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s, Crohn’s Disease, Dravet syndrome, inflammatory bowel diseases, glaucoma, arthritis, anxiety, depression, and more.
Research also suggests that increased access to marijuana can be a potent tool in the fight against the opioid epidemic. In 2010, the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research at the University of California found after a decade of clinical studies that cannabis is a promising treatment for pain syndromes, and a 2015 review of 38 randomized controlled trials found that in 71 percent of the studies, cannabinoids showed empirically demonstrable and statistically significant pain-relieving effects.
“Cannabis saved my life,” said Kyle Turley, an NFL offensive lineman who became addicted to opioid painkillers during his eight-year career, which led to struggles with anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts.
“I was a day away from suicide and checking out altogether. Marijuana gave me my life back, gave me my family back, and helped me get off all the pills,” he said.
NCIA’s Cannabis Business Summit® and Expo is the only event of its size that combines industry and advocacy in a way that helps businesses succeed and encourages social entrepreneurship. Other large industry events focus on generating greater profits, but fail to recognize the critical role of social responsibility and advocacy in the future success of the industry. Through the Summit, NCIA leads by example, involving activists in high-profile roles, covering critical policy developments, rallying supporters for the future, and offering scholarships to communities hit hardest by prohibition through a partnership with the Minority Cannabis Business Association (MCBA).
NCIA understands that to be an impactful, responsible player in the industry is to be a social activist, and public support for marijuana only grows when the messages of compassion and justice work in tandem with entrepreneurial success.
Yet, despite widespread public support for the regulated cannabis industry, questions remain about the future of federal marijuana policy. As California launches the world’s largest cannabis market, and other states prepare to follow suit, NCIA’s flagship event, Cannabis Business Summit® and Expo, readies professionals for the opportunities and challenges ahead in their states and across the nation.
Buy your tickets at CannabisBusinessSummit.com, or by calling (888) 409-4418. Prices for registration will increase at the door. For the latest Summit information, follow NCIA on Facebook (@TheNCIA) and Twitter (@NCIAorg), and sign up for email updates on its website.