First large-scale cannabis expo comes to Minneapolis
MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota's first large-scale cannabis event is taking place this weekend.
The two-day event is called the Lucky Leaf expo and it's being held at the Minneapolis Convention Center.
"There are six hoppers where you load your ground and sifted flower," said Tony Pagni of Perfectionist Rolling Equipment.
Pagni made the trip from Arizona to promote his Apehex rolling machine.
"It'll make 900 to 1,100 perfectly-packed pre-rolls an hour," said Pagni.
He's one of 150 cannabis vendors who turned out for the Lucky Leaf Expo. And he's joining local business owners like Calandra Revering, who with her son Donovan Harris, runs Slay Beverages out of Brooklyn Park.
"I'm the only Black woman in the state that owns a THC beverage," said Revering.
"I'm glad to see it growing for the most part, gaining popularity and meaning to everything," said Harris.
While there's plenty of networking taking place, a lot of this also centers around the future of the cannabis industry, and just how much it can grow in Minnesota.
Supporters said even though the state is about a year away from opening legal dispensaries, they expect the market to explode once that happens.
"Projections of sales of $1.5 billion by 2029," said Jen Randolph Reise, a cannabis attorney with North Star Law Group.
Drew Emmer is with Boveda, a Minnesota-based company that specializes in humidity control packs which keep cannabis flowers fresh. His company actually began 27 years ago in the cigar industry, and now he's hoping to highlight benefits and alleviate concerns about cannabis.
"Once they get over their fears and trepidation about how this thing is going to affect them, and that it's natural, there are a lot of benefits," said Emmer.
In addition to vendors, the expo also has a cannabis author on site. The event runs through Saturday.