Kentucky NORML at The Ohio Classic Golf Tournament and Exposition
I was officially asked to join the KYNORML team this past March after participating in the Kentucky Medical Cannabis event they organized in Frankfort at the end of the most recent legislative session. The event was a big success and I was honored to be asked to join the team.
This past week, July 11, 2024 I joined the KYNORML team of Matthew and Lauren Bratcher for my first true cannabis event, The Ohio Classic Golf Tournament and Exposition. I have been to “hemp” events, including a couple of Southern Hemp Expositions, but never a cannabis event in a legal state. To say I was excited is an understatement of epic proportions. Due to previous commitments, I was unable to arrange to attend the event overnight, heck I couldn’t even attend the “trophy dinner” or whatever it was called that evening. Regardless, it was an eye opening/reddening event where I got to network and see cool stuff. Without further ramble here are my impressions of the event.
Overall Impressions:
Matt and Lauren were awesome, they encouraged me to wander off and check out the event. I don’t golf so I only checked out one of the sponsored holes, but I did check out everyone’s “booth space” and talked. I talked a lot. Confession time. In my previous life one of my jobs included selling custom plastic injection molding services at trade shows. I love trade shows on many levels; the networking, the chance to learn, the “trick or treat” feeling of the marketing items people give away. It excites me on every level and, well I love cannabis, so this was really a treat…talking weed professionally.
The exhibits were mixed consulting companies, some law firms, producers, equipment manufacturers, media outlets… just a good mix of people all looking to share and expand knowledge of their sector cannabis industry.
Networking:
These types of events are about reconnecting with cohorts, finally meeting the people you know on line and meeting new people with whom you click. The Ohio Classic offered networking at all these levels.
Obviously getting a chance to work the event with Matthew and Lauren was a great opportunity to discuss future plans in person. KYNORML has several events in the works, including several events at spaces around the state for education about Kentucky’s medical marijuana program and cannabis patient enrollment. Watch this space to learn where an event is happening near you.
Just as exciting for me was the opportunity to meet a couple of people with whom I have worked online. For me, LinkedIn is the place to turn for professional networking in the cannabis industry. The opportunity to meet some of the folks with whom I have developed friendships on line was a treat.
I finally got a chance to meet my friend, publicist Alice Moon. Alice and I have worked on a couple of projects together. She both appeared as a guest on my short-lived YouTube interview program “Hemp Threads: Binding an Industry”, and also recommended one of her clients, Goodekind to appear. It was awesome getting to meet her in person and have an opportunity to talk. Alice is even smarter and more personable in person as she is on LinkedIn. I learned quite a bit from the panel on which she participated.
Having published several of my more serious articles, meeting Dustin Hoxworth, editor and chief visionary of Fat Nugs Magazine was really high on my list. The Fat Nugs crew sponsored hole 3, but I never made it that far. I am really bummed, as I heard that it was the full Fat Nugs experience. We met after the tournament concluded when Dustin wandered back to the exposition area. Dustin has provided the platform for me to author some extremely fun articles, from myth busting about hemp to the power of cannabis and GenX to finally get “hits from the bong” legalized in the 90s. Dustin provided free copies of the most recent Fat Nugs Magazine. It really made me wish I had an article in this issue. Maybe next time….oh and my meeting with Dustin leads to my next topic…
Trick or Treat
What is a trade show/exposition/exhibition without samples and marketing tchotchkes? Boring, that’s what. Nice pens and other office supplies is swell if not standard fare. I went to a couple of military trade shows and scored some filler stuff like an external battery pack for my phone AND the best charger adapter I have ever seen. It had plugs for I-phone, 2 android devices, some weird thing for like a Nintendo DS… score!!! But let’s make love, not war… and the best way to do that is empower people to consume the cannabis plant. To that end, one of the exhibits next to KYNOML was Ohio Valley Glass, and they were making pipes on site. While these were not free, I had needed to replace my own glass for years.
To help beat the heat, there were cold cans of cannabis infused beverages commemorating the Ohio Classic Golf Tournament, available courtesy of Classic Beverage Company. Appropriately the samples provided were ½ lemonade and ½ iced tea infused with different combinations of cannabinoids. While there were cannabis producers at the event, samples of their products were not brazenly distributed out of respect for the venue. Many of those companies gave out items like rolling trays or rolling papers. As an attendee, that’s a total win. My personal favorite was lighters!!!!! Lots of companies got this demographic figured out and lighters, good ones…hat’s off to the crew at Sorting Robotics for the refillable torch lighters they distributed. More about Sorting Robotics later. There were stickers and cannabinoid charts and 3-D printed roach clips and bears oh my!
Technology and Learning Stuff
Like many events there were both panels/speakers and exhibit booths/tables equating to lots of learning opportunities. With Ohio getting ready to kick off adult use cannabis sales…sometime in the future…if Ohio’s red legislature finally complies with the will of the people. (the Ohio legislature has dragged their feet and fiddled with the details of a piece of legislation that passed the general ballot in November 2023 with 57% of the vote.)
If there was a theme to the exposition, it was transitioning to an adult use market. To this end some of the presentations were about marketing and building brand, a panel about “Lounge Language” and a panel about AI & Tech, both of which I missed. But, with my manufacturing background I really enjoyed the displays of lighting and other items. However, it was the big-ticket item from Sorting Robotics that got my attention. The company makes equipment to automate cannabis processing and the demonstration machine they brought infuses prerolls with concentrate. The user interface was similar to an I-Pad and appeared very intuitive.
I ran into Ben Arreguy of Sorting Robotics while walking around the course and he explained the equipment they brought with them. His demonstration did NOT disappoint. One person watching the demonstration asked about cycle times/yield. If you have the demand, the return on investment will be quick. Not only does the machine improve cycle times it reduces shrinkage by streamlining the process and reducing operator waste. The material being infused is fed continuously from a large master batch, there is no need for the operator to transfer material to a series of smaller containers before infusion. The machine measures out a precise amount of material and infuses it in a repeatable location within the preroll. There is little variation in amount or location of the infusion.
Of course, the proof is in the pudding, or the preroll in this case. That’s why running into Dustin and the Fat Nugs crew was a blessing from Bob Marley himself. They shared some samples of prerolls infused by the Sorting Robotics machine with the KYNORML team. They burned cleanly, no runs, no clogs, no waste.
Roach It
Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the champions dinner and after party, but I left the Ohio Classic golf tournament with a new appreciation for the development of the cannabis industry. Additionally, Lauran, Matthew and I came away with some ideas and contacts we know will improve the events KYNORML has planned for the coming year. Keep an eye on this space for more information about what we have planned.
