Early signs of a bud boomerang in Las Vegas this week at MJBiz

There is no more innovative time in the cannabis industry than right now. 

In Las Vegas this week, we are seeing evidence of this in the form of hundreds if not thousands of startup companies convening at MJBizCon that are creating new products and services for what remains one of the fastest-growing industries on the planet. 

While the talk in the cannabis industry over the last 18 months is focused on the challenges of bringing more capital to the cannabis industry after the late teens and early twenties boom period, what this reporter is observing this week is the beginning of a bud boomerang. 

It is true that startup and expansion capital remains scant. However, new businesses with focused solutions and realistic valuations continue to contribute to a market anchored by $52 billion in annual U.S. sales (as well as an additional $28 billion in the quasi-legal hemp-derived THC category). Feeding off of this is a growing ecosystem of service providers who continue to invest talent and resources to support the resilient industry. 

One brand new company that Grown In caught up with at the Planet 13 dispensary is Cultivated Media. Co-founded by longtime cannabis business journalist (and old college buddy) Jay Rosenthal, Cultivated Media occupied the broadcast studio at the world’s largest dispensary (a reefer residency, of sort) and was kind enough to invite Grown In to be part of the program.

We encourage you to check out our conversation with Cultivated at the 2:13:30 mark of this video, and stay tuned for comprehensive insights and analysis from Grown In regarding our experience at MJBizCon in the weeks and months ahead.

And finally, we leave you with some of our favorite images from Vegas this week.