Two upcoming conferences will help prepare Gulf Coast entrepreneurs learn more about the business side of Mississippi’s new medical marijuana law.
It may take months for cannabis prescription card holders to get access to medical marijuana in the state as dispensaries and grow houses get licensed and start growing.
Here’s everything you need to know about the conferences.
The Mississippi Marijuana Business Conference
On June 23 and 24, The Mississippi Marijuana Business Conference will feature more than a dozen speakers with sessions on everything from cultivation techniques to branding and advertising. The event will be held at the Biloxi South Beach Event Center, 289 Veterans Ave., from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The conference agenda will include courses on setting up a dispensary, picking its location and running a profitable business. Others will lead discussions on starting cultivation businesses and running micro-cultivators and processors that can compete and survive against large corporations.
The Department of Revenue is about a month away from accepting applications for medical marijuana business licenses. Clare Millette and Rich Brown of Cosmich, Simmons & Brown will discuss the application process and licensing requirements on Thursday, June 23, the first day of the conference.
Representatives from the Mississippi State Department of Health will hold a panel on state regulations Thursday.
Colin Bass, vice president of equity compensation and investor relations for MedMen, will be on hand with tips on financial planning and cash flow management.
On Friday, California farmer and cultivation expert John Nicholson will lead a discussion on the basics of several cultivation methods, irrigation, lighting and soil.
For more information or to register for the event, call 601-207-6622 or visit mscannabizcon.com.
Mississippi Cannabis Expo and Cannabis Meets Healthcare Expo
The Mississippi Cannabis | Cannabis Meets Healthcare Expo will be held at the Gulf Coast Convention Center, 2350 Beach Blvd., in Biloxi.
“The MS Cannabis | Cannabis Meets Healthcare Expo is a business-to-business show offering attendees the opportunity to hear speakers and meet with exhibitors on both the benefits of medical marijuana and the logistics of opening a cannabis business, whether it be a cultivator, dispensary, distributor, etc.,” said event organizer Maureen Hennessey.
Jessica Rice, founder of event organizer CannaOne, said entrepreneurs with any level of experience would benefit from the three-day event. “We would recommend someone interested in starting a cannabis business to attend,” she said.
The event will kick off with pre-convention workshops Thursday, July 7, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. A three-hour workshop on cultivation will explain indoor and outdoor farming, from seed to harvest. The afternoon workshop will be a guide to running a dispensary or delivery service.
“Our pre-con workshops on July 7 offer attendees detailed information on opening and running a cultivation site, run by David Fetter and Jordan Stauder of Grow America Builders,” Hennessey said. “And opening and running a dispensary, run by well-known industry execs Chris Reid of Cova Software and Nic Easley of 3C Consulting.”
Two days of sessions and exhibits will take place Friday and Saturday, July 8-9, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
On Friday and Saturday, 25 sessions will cover the history of medical marijuana use, ways to raise capital to fund a cannabis business and legal issues for hospitals, nursing homes and hospices. Saturday’s events include a screening of Ricki Lake’s movie, “Weed the People: A Healing Revolution is Growing.”
State health department representatives Kris Jones and Cassandra Walter will run Saturday’s health care panel and keynote speaker Randy Lanier will share his story of going from a racecar driver to a prisoner convicted for importing marijuana. He now runs nonprofit Freedom Grow, helping nonviolent cannabis prisoners and their families.
For more information or to register for the event, call event organizers CannaOne at 833-422-6626 or visit cannaone.com.
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