Marijuana expo includes ‘High Seas’ yacht party

Want to learn more about Florida’s growing medical marijuana industry or meet insiders in the scene?

The 2018 U.S. Cannabis Conference & Expo will take place Friday through Sunday at the downtown Hyatt Regency Miami hotel. The expo is open to the public and a Florida medical marijuana prescription is not required.

The timing of the conference comes as more medical marijuana dispensaries are opening retail shops in the region. New locations include Curaleaf at 148 N. Federal Highway in Deerfield Beach and Trulieve at 9600 SW 77th Ave., near Dadeland Mall in Miami-Dade’s Kendall. Curaleaf, which opened a drive-thru store just northwest of Tampa earlier this year, also has a retail store down the street from Dadeland.

The dispensaries are popping up as the state’s medical marijuana registry grows and as more cities approve locations.

Brandy Shapiro, of Arizona-based Milestone Trade Shows, which is organizing the Miami expo, said the conference will be an educational networking event “whether you’re a

business, patient or an entrepreneur” looking to better understand the therapeutic effects of cannabis and opportunities in the industry.

Representatives from cannabis brands DOMMlife, Surterra Wellness (which has a store in Miami Beach) and Clover Leaf University will hold sessions that focus on how people and businesses can break into the budding industry.

Other events include a “High Seas” party with cannabis industry professionals Friday evening aboard a 228-foot mega yacht Sea Fair docked in Biscayne Bay. There are sessions on the history of Florida’s medical marijuana laws and how people can obtain a medical marijuana card. And there’s a medical marijuana physician certification course that will provide physicians a quiet space to take the test online, according to the expo calendar.

Aaron Smith, executive director of the National Cannabis Industry Association in Washington D.C., will have a presentation about the state of the industry on a national level.

Registration for the conference starts at $199 at the hotel, 400 SE Second Ave.

For more information, visit usccexpo.com /miami2018-registration