The MJ Unpacked showcased a mature New Jersey cannabis market at their annual cannabis industry convention in Atlantic City, along with their 2nd annual NJ Cup.
Table of Contents
It included the MJU Cannabis Cup that Heady NJ previously covered.
Bustling Cannabis Convention
The MJ Unpacked convention floor at the Hard Rock hotel and casino was bustling with many entrepreneurs, senior staff, brand ambassadors, and lawyers making their way around. It reflected the growth of the industry with new companies, both local and from elsewhere, displaying their wares.
A great range of different brands had amusing booths with various trinkets, with some even having blown-up figures to entice people.
Several exhibitors were drink manufacturers promoting new dispensary products as well as THC seltzer makers looking to integrate with the licensed dispensaries. Other companies displayed their technical ability and unique products.
The great range of companies represented, from local to large Multi-State Operator (MSO), was certainly the mark of a mature legal NJ cannabis industry.
The area outside the convention contained their logo of a giant guitar became contested when conference goers got yelled at several times by security guards and told to go to the other side of the building.
NJ Cannabis Industry Issues
Many entrepreneurs who had previously been on the cannabis convention circuit have since opened and had happy stories to tell. Some who have been open for some time are looking to expand into their own products via license or by developing a chain.
Abundant Leaf CEO Holly DeLorenzo was among those who have gotten to market after years of struggle as a South Jersey woman-owned manufacturer. They now have gummies and were among those competing for an MJU Cup.
However, others Heady NJ often sees on the cannabis industry convention circuit were not there. Some have small businesses that need tending. Others have gotten out of the game for one reason or another.
It is difficult when it feels like you have a calling to promote what can be a sacred, revolutionary medicinal herb. That’s especially true when you follow that calling into the shark-infested seas of a commodity market.
Those with experience in such waters, like serial entrepreneurs with assets, have been able to make progress in the New Jersey cannabis market over time.
NJ-CRC Makes the Scene in Atlantic City
Notably, NJ Cannabis Regulatory Commission (NJ-CRC) Commissioners Krista Nash and Amelia Mapp were walking the convention floor and attended lawyer and lobbyist Lou Maggazzu’s party at the nearby Show Boat hotel on Tuesday.
While not eager to go on the record with Heady NJ spontaneously, Mapp and Nash were very open to speaking with many businesspeople and advocates.
Capital and Social Equity Issues Panel Held
Nash and Mapp also attended a panel moderated by NJ-CRC Diversity and Inclusion Director Wesley McWhite. It featured newly opened East Coast Dank dispensary owner Kyle Page, Danielle Drummond of Ascend, and attorney and advocate Chirali Patel.
Drummond touted the Multi-State Operator (MSO) Ascend’s partnership with the social equity license holder Page as a way to make progress.
Page noted the value of mentorship and incubation from Ascend. He is the subject of a film documentary on his struggles as an underground legacy to legal cannabis entrepreneur from Paterson.
Page said his positivity and faith in God helped him get through difficult times before opening recently.
He noted how proud his parents were when he opened after years of issues with the law and a difficult business due to his passion for the sacred herb. (Check out the video on Instagram!)
Patel valued authenticity in brands, which she believed would lead to loyalty and subsequently market share.
“Brands are going to survive if they have buy-in,” she said.
“Partnership is the way,” Patel argued. “It’s so hard to succeed in your own in a federally illegal economy.”
“There’s good people in this space,” she added. “As long as you’re true to yourself, you’ll always be fine.”
Drummond noted that those with generational wealth have a great advantage. She also warned that Big Pharma, Alcohol, and Tobacco have been circling for years and are far bigger than the cannabis MSOs.
Honoring Longtime Advocates with Marshall Ogen Community Builder Award
Notably, MJ Unpacked CEO George Jage presided over the award of the Marshall Ogen Community Builder Award.
It was named for the late NJ cannabis industry pioneer Marshall Ogen, who tragically passed.
“Our business would be here without him and the people he introduced me to…,” Jage said. “He was the absolute epitome of a community builder.”
He then introduced Ogen’s widow and former NJ Canna Business Association President and township Green Founder Scott Rudder.
Rudder then presented cannabis advocate and consultant Leo Bridgewater with the Marshall Ogen award.
(Rudder will be featured on the South Jersey Canna Blooming Live Show and Party in South Kersey June 20th!)
“This guy took on (former anti-marijuana Republican Governor) Chris Christie…. on the steps of the State House!” Rudder exclaimed.
He congratulated Bridgewater for persuading Christie to sign a bill to add Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as a medical cannabis condition.
Bridgewater discussed his experience in advocacy and legalization.
“They’re playing with us,” he declared. “We have to get mobilized. They’re not afraid of us because we don’t vote.”
He encouraged people to lobby their state legislators.
MJ Unpacked Cannabis Convention Parties
The many happy hours and parties held throughout the three-day convention included the nearby Showboat Hotel and spanned Atlantic City. MJ Unpacked hosted, for the second year in a row a great party on the nearby Steel Pier, which the recent High Times Cup seemed to want to compete with.
One of the tents featured an infused soda with cola and orange flavors called High Tide. They will be debuting in dispensaries soon.
(Full disclosure: Heady NJ had an ad deal with MJ Unpacked.
