Just Doobie It... Cannabis Goes Mainstream at The Las Vegas Convention Center with #MJBIZCon

“It makes me feel the way I need to feel.” --Snoop Dogg

Welcome to High Standards... With marijuana now legal in 29 states medically, recreationally in 8 states (with California coming on board as of Jan. 1st), the cannabis industry is one of the fastest growing businesses in the history of our modern economy. Weed is now a $7 billion dollar a year industry, in the United States alone.

Every year, new markets open up in the United States and across the world. And with that in mind a few weeks ago Edible Skinny was lucky enough to experience the expansive growth of the cannabis industry at MJ BIZ Con, sponsored by Marijuana Business Daily.

Founded in early 2011, Marijuana Business Daily focuses solely on Cannabusiness and the investors who back them. This industry keeps growing which lead to the natural expansion of the conference this year.

When the conference began in 2012 there were 400 people in attendance. This grew exponentially with 2016 seeing 10,881 visitors. In 2017 this number doubled to 18,500 cannabis business leaders and investors with 38 countries represented.

This year’s MJ BIZ Con saw a venue change from the Rio All-Suites Hotel & Casino to the Las Vegas Convention Center (where they occupied 300k sq ft of Expo Hall Space). The conference expanded extensively from 9 Tracks to 45 Sessions to 110+ Speakers and 678 Exhibitors. So with all these opportunities Edible Skinny was able to taste the rainbow of cannabis (business) experiences!

Our MJ BIZ Con commenced early with the CLAB Pitchfest Party sponsored by ArcView Group, and Altitude Products. Held at Casa de Shenandoah (aka Wayne Newton's house), the event attended by thousands, featured Elvis impersonators, showgirls, and munchies galore with a plethora of food trucks surrounding the building. The ArcView Group raises capital from cannabis industry taste makers and helps find strategic partners to bring cannabusinesses to the next level. With 600 members, ArcView Group have helped fund 150 companies with over $150 million dollars of capital invested. Atltidue Products is the creator of The Weekend Box (as Birchbox for weed), along with having the licensing rights to some of the cannabis industry's most established brands for the state of Nevada.

Flower Power! The next day it was off to the largest cannabis convention in the country. While walking the floor we ran into cannabis media movers and shakers Dr. Lloyd Covens (editor of West420 Newsweekly), Karen Paull and Wendy Robbins of The Marijuana Show (aka the "Shark Tank for Legal Cannabis Businesses), Canna Influencer Alice Moon, and Ashley Manta of CannaSexual.

“Of course I know how to roll a joint.” --Martha Stewart

Let's get medicated! There were plenty of intriguing activations. MJ Freeway Business Solutions was the very first seed-to-sale tracking for the industry starting in 2010. This year MJ Freeway brought an oculus rift virtual experience to MJ BIZ to show how their technology platform can help experiences such as cultivations, laboratories, and dispensaries.

While walking the floor we discovered the world’s first planter with antimicrobial silver created by Miami based The Bucket Group. This nifty planter can be stacked in numerous versions of rows, has attachments for tools for trimming, and comes in a multitude of colors... including pink!

We continued on to sample the fabulous Marley Natural Chapstick. The hemp seed based product also contains coconut and sunflower seed oils as well as cocoa butter and vitamin E. The result was an uber healing experience for desert dry lips that left our smackers feeling soft, healthy, and extremely smooth.

And so the cannabis industry grows... word on the street is that next year's MJ BIZ Con would accommodate up to 40,000 attendees... and with that so does the other green (of more and more zeros).

So in the immortal words of Stewie Griffin, “Everything is better with a bag of weed.” Here's to 2018 being full of green, in a multitude of forms!

FYI, the next event hosted by Marijuana Business Daily will be MJBizConNEXT in New Orleans in May 2018.

Kat Thomas is the Editor in Chief of Edible Skinny, a site dedicated to making your life postcardworthy. She is also the CEO of the creative media company This Way Adventures. You can find more about both brands at http://www.thiswayadventures.com