MJUnpacked surprised St. Louis as cannabis industry participants nationwide descended on the gorgeous, four-diamond Union Station Hotel. Highlights included a Beatles-themed light show, a brightly lit, engaging expo hall, expert panels, two tasty meals per day on site, and XL gift boxes from local dispensary Blue Sage Cannabis Deli containing many full-sized, high-THC products.
There were puppy playpens on the show floor, part of an adopt-don’t-shop initiative sponsored by Headset. The on-site cuddlefest helped to reduce election stress, and a few participants warmheartedly adopted some of the lucky pups and flew home with them.
The mood on the floor was sometimes somber as people were processing their shock and disbelief that a convicted felon was elected leader of the free world. However, having a sense of community—and a puppy room—helped to soften the blow. Vendor PayPro had two professional, complimentary masseuses on deck to rub the stress out of everyone’s necks and shoulders.
Some “VIPs” were gifted high-quality boxes on-site from Blue Sage Cannabis Deli containing full-size, high-dose THC products. Other attendees had to venture outside the venue, taking complimentary, comfortable round-trip shuttle buses to the dispensary to pick up their gift boxes. The staff at Blue Sage were kind and accommodating.
Attendee Raymond Guns, CPA, posted that his top takeaways from MJUnpacked were, ”The Missouri cannabis industry is more collaborative than others. MoCannTrade (Missouri Cannabis Trade Association) is well-run and has consistent member events. When speaking with the operators, they [seem to] know and trust each other.
Guns surmised, “Capital is still the largest domino for many cannabis companies. Even established operations looking to expand need capital their cash flows can support. Positive ash Flows are important. Can not get around running a profitable business when it comes to Buying, Selling or Raising Capital for a cannabis business.”
“Missouri gave me a bit of a blueprint for how I want to shape Wisconsin’s cannabis industry,” he said.
MJUnpacked certainly provided a blueprint for how cannabis conferences should be – hyperlocal, genuine, and engaging.
