by Brian Gilbert, NCIA Events Manager

NCIA just wrapped up the the most recent editions of our regular member event series, the Quarterly Cannabis Caucuses. These events are designed to prepare our members for the uncertain times ahead and provide them the tools they need to help continue the positive momentum seen for our issues on the federal level.

Over the course of three weeks in April, we brought together more than 750 industry professionals, representing more than 300 individual cannabis businesses in eight cities spread across seven states. In Colorado, Northern California, and Southern California, we had more than 150 attendees join us at each event, all surpassing our previous attendance records set in 2016. The continued growth and support of these events has been incredible to witness! Thank you to all those who participated last month and provided us the opportunity to foster this growing community.

Read on to view photo and event highlights from this quarter, as well as date and location info for our Q3 caucuses hosted in July.

We were thrilled in our first week to be joined in Washington by Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes, in the Northeast by Massachusetts Representative Dave Rogers (D-24), and in Colorado by State Senator Tim Neville (R-16).

The following week in Oregon, Jeffrey Rhoads, Senior Policy Advisor on Marijuana to Governor Kate Brown, and Tara Sulzen, Regional Director for Rep. Earl Blumenauer, spoke in Oregon at ecotrust.

In our final week we were joined at Meadow in San Francisco by Jeff Sparks with the Office of CA State Senator Scott Wiener (D – 11th District). Then we welcomed Pamela Epstein, consultant and attorney at Green Wise Consulting and Hoban Law Group, to the historic Andaz Hotel for our first event in West Hollywood.

Finally, Jeff Irwin, the Political Director of the Michigan Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, spoke at a standing-room-only event at Om of Medicine in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The event was NCIA’s first Michigan gathering in nearly four years, and with 75 attendees, set an attendance record for our Midwest Caucus. We were incredibly excited to see such a strong show of unity among the advocates and industry players following the announcement of a coalition to put adult-use legalization on the ballot in 2018.

Special thanks go out to our generous guest speakers who all provided valuable insights for our attendees on regional legislative issues and hot topics.

This quarter we were also joined at a number of events by current candidates for our 2017 Board of Directors election. Thank you to all those listed below that made an appearance to demonstrate their commitment to providing leadership for their national trade association!

Caela Bintner – Faces Human Capital Management
AC Braddock – Eden Labs
Shannon Fender – Native Roots
Hector Fernandez – G FarmaLabs
Matt Hoffman – Hand Grown
Christie Lunsford – Pro MAX Grow
Sean McAllister – McAllister Garfield, P.C.
Brad Nattrass – urban-gro Inc.
Keegan Peterson – wurk

Continuing the 2017 tradition of broadening our reach within regions, we’ll be bringing the July editions of our Northeast, Midwest, and Northern and Southern California events to new cities. Mark your calendar now and stay on the lookout for complete details once registration opens up later this month!

Washington – Seattle, WA – Tuesday, July 11
Northeast – Portland, ME – Tuesday, July 11
Colorado – Denver, CO – Thursday, July 13
Oregon – Portland, OR – Tuesday, July 18
Tri-State – New York, NY – Tuesday, July 18
So. California – San Diego, CA – Thursday, July 20
No. California – San Jose, CA – Tuesday, July 25
Midwest – Columbus, OH – Thursday, July 27

Finally, NCIA deeply values the community which we’re building around these events and our advocacy efforts as a whole. To that end, we hope all those who attended will be taking their involvement to the next level by participating in our 7th Annual Cannabis Industry Lobby Days, kicking off next week in Washington, DC!

As always a huge thanks goes out to all our sponsors, media partners, and event hosts that made Q2 another success! Please join us in showing them some appreciation for the enormous support by following the links below and learning more about each of these amazing businesses or groups. Then reach out to see how they might be able to help you!

Premier Sponsor
Vangst Talent Network

Supporting Sponsors
The ArcView Group
BDS Analytics
CannaRegs
Lifted Logistics

Media Partners
Sensi Media
Stoner Magazine

Event Hosts
California Cannabis Industry Association
Hey Jackpot!
Meadow
Om of Medicine

Interested in sponsoring an upcoming Cannabis Caucus in your area or a series of events across the country? Contact us at sponsorship@thecannabisindustry.org to learn more about supporting your industry’s political voice and highlighting your brand at NCIA’s remaining Quarterly Cannabis Caucuses in 2017!