IgniteIt D.C. Marks a New Chapter for Benzinga Regulars

For me, Benzinga Cannabis events were always a reliable place to meet
people across the industry. As I liked to say, once you got swept up in the
Benzinga blitzkrieg, time would fly by and you would find yourself a day or
two later exhausted but with plenty of new leads and connections. I also
used to joke that Benzinga Cannabis events had a high “density of
decisionmakers” under one roof compared to many other cannabis conferences.
They weren’t spread across multiple buildings, and most attendees stayed in
the same hotel, which naturally made the hotel bar a central spot for
informal networking.

Which is why I was initially disappointed to learn that the brain trust
behind the Benzinga Cannabis events — Jason Raznick and his team, including
Javier Hasse, along with Elliot and Patrick (whom I jokingly refer to as
the Laudable Lane Lads) — were leaving Benzinga. Thankfully, they weren’t
venturing too far, and instead began organizing events under a new brand: IgniteIt
Cannabis.

IgniteIt Cannabis started off with a couple of one-day events (similar to
what Benzinga had introduced), but I wasn’t able to make the California
stop. That’s why I was particularly motivated to attend their one-day event
on November 17 in Washington, D.C., even if it meant catching a train from
New York Penn Station at 5 a.m.

The conference coincided with some major industry news one week earlier —
the so-called “hemp ban.” Unsurprisingly, it became a major topic of
conversation throughout the day, and I heard a number of thoughtful
perspectives on its potential implications. For example, a friend pointed
out that industry economist Beau Whitney focused on one practical concern:
if regulatory clarity doesn’t arrive soon, hemp farmers may delay planting
this upcoming season, which could ripple through supply for hemp-derived
products later on.

For me, though, one of the highlights of the conference was seeing Cory
Booker speak. It’s not often in this industry that you get the chance to
hear directly from a former presidential candidate who has been
consistently engaged on cannabis policy. His remarks emphasized the ongoing
effort to move common-sense reform forward in Washington, and it was
encouraging to hear that perspective firsthand.

All in all, it was a day filled with timely programming and productive
networking, both outside the sessions and during the cocktail hour
afterward. Which is why I’m looking forward to IgniteIt’s upcoming event in
my backyard of New Jersey on February 10 — and continuing the conversations
started in D.C.