MJBizCon in Las Vegas had its biggest year yet, with a record-breaking 27,000 people attending the annual conference aimed at marijuana professionals and investors.
Jeanette Horton, a vendor at the conference and VP of Global Marketing Communications, said, “It’s surreal. It’s so buzzy and energetic. It’s hard to believe how fast it’s grown.”
Since the first MJBizCon in 2011, the annual cannabis conference has grown immensely. According to Trade Show Executive Magazine, MJBizCon is the fastest-growing retail trade show in the United States.
The growth of MJBizCon reflects the increasing number of states in the U.S. legalizing medical and adult-use cannabis. Last month, voters in Michigan voted to legalize recreational marijuana, and voters in Missouri and Utah legalized medical cannabis. Adult-use cannabis is legal in ten states plus Washington, D.C. and medical marijuana is legal in 33 states.
Chris Walsh, the founding editor and vice president of Marijuana Business Daily, who hosts the event, said at the conference, “I’ve been chronicling and analyzing this industry for the past seven-plus years, and for the first time I can potentially see a federal change coming within the next year.”
“There will be a big crack in the marijuana legalization dam in the U.S.,” Walsh said. “So much pressure is building up in significant areas – in the business community, in the investor world, in the general population, in this global movement – that lawmakers must start to pay more attention.”