The Capitol CannaShow in Washington, D.C. was definitely an event to experience the world of Cannabis and all that makes it come to life. February marks the one year anniversary of cannabis legalization in D.C. and 2015 has seen an economic boom in the legal marijuana sales — 5.4 Billion dollars, according to a new report by Arcview Market Research and New Frontier. I was tipped by the big homie Mike Ant and so we decided to check out the conference and get the drift on what the CannaShow was all about, Marijuana. At this event we were able to learn about all of the various organizations that fought and continue to fight delay for the legalization of the sticky itcky. The inaugural event took place at The Mayflower Hotel which was a beautiful location, to say the least as every detail and trimming of the hotel provided an awesome setting for the main event. Now most people would say ‘I don’t smoke’ or ‘I’m a guana expert’ when one thinks about an event like this but I can assure you that this event would be interesting for all people as it’s very insightful to see all the many ways people respect and know about the natural herbal treatment of cannabis.
This event featured key advocates, lawmakers, and cannabusinesses that came together to build and share ideas at the very first locally-sourced cannabis exposition and conference. The cannabis scene in the D.C. area is surging with entrepreneurial businesses like Hemper, District Smoke Styles, District Greenhaus, Grindstone Universal, and more. It was quite interesting to check out what everyone was working on, as with every minute you met someone that handled a different part of the process of making marijuana readily accessible. You could find groups that were making super soil to grow cannabis easier for the average joe, a small team that makes cannabis edibles, even cannabis clothing. Most surprisingly amongst them all to me was the CannaTea, yes you heard me correctly there’s a business that will provide you with a cannabis tea to enjoy with your midday snack. The interest in cannabis is growing — this is evident when just looking at the ever-increasing number of attendees at activist meetings like DC NORML which is consistently hitting the one-hundred mark.
There is also rumors that the city is attracting big players such as High Times and Oaksterdam, they have begun hosting their own events in D.C. with tickets in the pricey $400-$1000+ range. Now if that doesn’t show the love for marijuana I don’t know what else does. Well maybe I do, after going to The Capitol CannaShow and seeing as to how they packed out the entire hotel before 12p I knew they had something special on their hands. The Capitol CannaShow is the first locally-sourced business summit promising local networking at affordable $25 price tag. So hopefully they find a way to keep the price within that range so future attendees can save a buck or two when gaining an education on cannabis.
The main even would totally be having the reporter-turned-ganjapreneur from Alaska, Charlo Greene and Adam Eidinger as speakers at the event. Eidinger is also known for his role in spearheading Initiative 71 and his leadership role in the DCMJ organization. A firm supporter of medical marijuana since residents first voted in favor of it in 1998, D.C. Council Member David Grosso (I-At Large), will also be in attendance.
There were also insightful conversations shared with one of the well-known experts in the marijuana industry, Jon Kagia, from New Frontier who spoke about the business of cannabis. He’s most known for his involvement with his firm co-releasing the summary cited by The New York Times on the 5.4 Billion spent on legal marijuana in 2015. On the cultivation front, attendees heard from Kathryn Rust, Manager of District Growers and Assistant Manager at the Metropolitan Wellness Center on Capitol Hill and licensed cultivator, Isaac Ellowitz from Alternative Solutions.
There were also moments where you would bump into cannabis enthusiast like the CEO of Get Hemp Butter, Kyla Hill, sharing her CBD infused beauty products which is awesome to see. She’s also been noted in NYTlive and identified as one of the female entrepreneurs to look out for in the cannabis industry. Most notably the Capitol CannaShow lived up to it’s goal to educate the community on a variety of issues surrounding cannabis and with over 1,000 people in attendance on the very first event I’m sure the organizers are feeling lifted knowing that they were able to pull it off in less than two months of preparation. They also manage to have a cheerful heart which is easily noted by them contributing partial proceeds to the Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) and the National Association of Concerned Veterans (NACV).
Overall, this was a great event to check out in the city and we believe that this will grow to eventually be at the DC convention center within the new 2 to 3 years from now. We definitely plan to be there next year to cover the growth of the event and hope to see you there. If you managed to make it out definitely share your experience with us below. As always Champs! Keep winning and stay informed.
