Making money growing marijuana is a bit more involved than dumping seeds in the ground, adding water, and returning a few months later to collect the pile of $100 bills that's sprung forth. A successful cultivation operation is a sophisticated one with numerous moving and breakable parts.
Likewise, now that legalization is a looming reality in California, a viable business in the cannabis industry will also require some finesse. Outright ignorance of the plant will doom an honest venture to failure, no matter how solid the funding or how vetted the business plan.
That foundational footing is important, and is one of the benefits of attending the International Cannabis Business Conference on Feb. 15-16 (in addition to meeting celebrities like travel writer Rick Steves).
"We believe if you don't understand the culture and politics and culture, you won't succeed," says conference organizer Alex Rogers, who also operates dispensaries in Oregon. "It just takes one little sniff to say, 'Oh, ok: you don't give a fuck and just want to make some money.' We sniff that out so quick."
"There's no reason this [legalization and the cannabis industry] can't be win-win for everybody," he added. "But if you're not in tune with the consciousness of the plant, you're going to be swimming upstream in this industry."
The conference provides an air of legitimacy for the marijuana industry: There are lectures and networking opportunities with some of the pro-legalization's biggest names, including U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher — the Republican who helped end the Justice Department's war on weed in California — and addiction specialist Dr. Carl Hart.
So capitalists can get a crash course in cannabis, but this isn't necessarily for them. ICBC is "a real practical conference," Rogers says. "We're giving really great gritty information that the average mom-and-pop business can really glean a lot from."
In other words, if keeping marijuana out of the hands of Marlboro is your jam, this event is for you. Likewise, if you've gleaned that there's gold in the hills — and want to figure out exactly why California is watching Oregon, Washington, Colorado, and Alaska cash in on our hard work — this is the way to figure out how to start mining in the Green Rush.
Hart gives the keynote on Sunday, Feb. 15, when attendees will also hear from Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, which has taken the lead on legalizing cannabis in 2016.
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