The Detroit Free Press reported Wednesday the CannaCon convention will take place in Detroit on June 1-2. The cannabis industry event will be held at the Cobo Center beginning Friday at 10 a.m. and is expected to host up to 5,000 industry professionals and entrepreneurs.
Andrew Brisbo, executive director of the Michigan Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation, will speak at the event. The convention comes just as Michigan prepares to issue permanent retail medical marijuana licenses. Michigan dispensaries are currently operating under temporary licenses until June 15, while state regulations are being finalized.
The legal medical marijuana industry in the state is expected to earn more than $700 million per year, and voters are expected to legalize recreational marijuana for adults ages 21 and older this November after a petition to regulate marijuana like alcohol garnered the required signatures to make it on the election ballot.
At least 61 percent of residents in Michigan support legalizing recreational marijuana, and the marijuana industry could earn more than $1 billion annually with legalization, according to experts.
Candidate for Attorney General Scheduled to Speak
The public is welcome to attend the event, but tickets are pricey. A one-day admission costs $70. Two days will cost you $120. Tickets for those who also want to attend the seminars as well will cost $175 for one day or $275 for both days.
Seminars will include presentations on the Michigan Medical Marijuana Facilities Act of 2016, The Three Pillars of Marketing, Cannabis Tax and Accounting, Diversity and Inclusion, Protecting Your Cannabis Business, and several other presentations.
One prominent guest planning to speak at the convention is lawyer and Democratic candidate for attorney general Dana Nessel. Nessel will speak about the pot proposal ballot initiative on Saturday. She is the only candidate for attorney general who openly supports marijuana legalization and believes the drug can help combat the opioid epidemic.
Board member of the Michigan National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws Matthew Abel will also speak at CannaCon. Abel is scheduled to speak at the event Saturday.
More than 150 cannabis industry vendors will also be at the event. Cannabis will not be permitted at the event because recreational marijuana is not yet legal in Michigan.
CannaCon began in Seattle as a cannabis industry platform back in 2013.
