"State of the industry" perspectives

The focus will be on the “state of the industry” from several key stakeholder perspectives, such as cultivators, processors, retailers, politicians, attorneys, and medical operators speaking on various panels. Lightning-round business consultations will be available for attendees, in addition to networking opportunities, lunch, a happy hour and more. 

Topics we'll cover

We've invited industry members to discuss the current state of the NYS cannabis marketplace - the good, the bad and everything in between:

• Grower investment & supply chain issues
  • With hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of last year's weed decaying, and growers less than a month away from this year's Croptober, where do things stand with licensed cultivators? What will next year's harvest look like, and will there be enough (or too much) for dispensaries? What other hurdles are cultivators facing, and what fixes do they recommend for the slate of problems currently plaguing their key part of the industry?
• Checking in with CAURD licensees
  • It has not been an easy road for entrepreneurs who received a CAURD license: injunctions, lawsuits, more injunctions, and a lack of information about next steps. Some have invested tens or hundreds of thousands into a business that depends on a vibrant cannabis ecosystem operating across the state. What is next for CAURD, and what is going to happen to the hundreds of licensees who haven't been able to open? Also, what are some of the operating dispensaries seeing as far as customer behavior, trends, and forecasts?
• Processor challenges & successes
  • Processors are the bridge between growers and retailers, but many of the roughly one-third of the 40-licensed AUCPs up and running today are struggling to make ends meet and going deeper into debt every day the marketplace isn't fully operational. This group has their own unique set of challenges in New York, but their situation is often put on the back burner to what's happening with growers and retailers. Hear from three processors about this often neglected but critical part of the supply chain.
• Medical marijuana roadblocks & outlook
  • Two and a half years after cannabis legalization in New York State, medical patients still have limited access to dispensaries and product types, while New York's multi-state operators are facing roadblocks that directly affect patients. What is next for the state's medical program, and will MSOs and the rest of the marketplace ever find common ground?
• A legal perspective of what's happening & when (and what you can do in the meantime)
  • Lawsuits, injunctions, administrative hearings, "crackdowns" and more: New York's legal rollout has – as expected – resulted in several lawsuits and a flurry of other legal action over the past year. A panel of cannabis attorneys will discuss the past, present and future legal landscape, including details around what's happening in courtrooms across the state regarding unlicensed stores.
• The politics of cannabis across NYS
  • Hear directly from Western NY politicians about what hurdles they're encountering in their own municipalities; what actions they've taken to open up the market; their interactions with the OCM and DASNY; and more. 

Agenda timing

• 8:30-9 a.m. – Check in/vendors
• 9:15-9:45 a.m. – Keynote: Every crisis contains opportunity (by Andrew DeAngelo)
• 9:45-10:30 a.m. – Panel #1
• 10:30-10:45 a.m. – Networking, coffee break, vendors
• 10:45-11:30 a.m. – Panel #2
• 11:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m. – Panel #3
• 12:15-1:15 p.m. – Lunch, networking
• 1:15-2:00 p.m. – Panel #4
• 2:00-2:45 p.m. – Panel #5
• 2:45-3 p.m. – Networking, photo ops, vendors
• 3-3:45 p.m. – Panel #6
• 4-5:30 p.m. – Closing remarks, happy hour, networking