In some states, the culture of cannabis gets pushed to the side when the money from legalization rolls in. Finance bros and corporate drones descend in a green rush, pushing out the people who love the plant the most. But in New Jersey, the culture is fighting back. 

NECANN Comes to Atlantic City

The 4th annual NECANN Conference came to the shores of Atlantic City on September 8 and 9. 

NECANN is one of the most popular cannabis events on the East Coast, traveling from state to state to generate excitement, awareness, and connections in the cannabis industry. This was my first year at the New Jersey event, and I wanted to soak it all up. 

The conference ran from Friday to Saturday, with a networking event on Friday night and separately hosted afterparties, and an official afterparty hosted on Saturday by MUDD Brothers Cannabis Co. 

There was, in a single word, excitement. Excitement on the show floor, excitement in the educational sessions, and plenty of excitement at the afterparties. Much of the excitement stemmed from the possibility of a nascent market. Again and again, I heard: now is the time to get into New Jersey.

There was frustration too, as there always is. Timelines for state license approval are long and don't end when a conditional license is issued. Money is hard to find and quality partnerships are even harder. 

But people can only find what they’re looking for, and the show floor was filled with people seeking  lasting connections.  Some, like Essence Wellness, were looking for financial partnerships for a dispensary while others like Best Dirty Lemonade were looking for manufacturing partners to produce infused lemonade. Nobody was here on a pipe dream - these are seasoned entrepreneurs, with business training and the plans to back it up. 

I’m always curious how events stack up from year to year, and this NECANN was lively and diverse. So I wondered —has it always been this way?  When I asked around, the consensus was clear: the 2023 event blew all previous years away.

Preserving the Culture of Cannabis 

The change in energy and excitement at this year’s event was no doubt due to NECANN's partnership with 420NJ Events, a local, Black-owned events business run by Brendon Robinson and Stanley Okoro. 420NJ Events ran a large part of the conference, including the social equity corner, which hosted education sessions, the networking event on Friday, and the official NECANN afterparty on Saturday. 

But to call Robinson and Okoro's work at NECANN a simple partnership is to do it a disservice. These two were undoubtedly the backbone of this conference. 

If you haven't heard of Robinson and Okoro, let me happily introduce you. These two friends-turned-business partners are lifelong cannabis advocates and rising stars on the East Coast, deeply entrenched in New Jersey's cannabis market and culture. 

In addition to 420NJ Events, the two are also co-founders of MUDD Brothers Cannabis Co., a concentrates brand backed by Ayr Wellness. MUDD Brothers launched earlier this year on 7/10 and the brand helps financially support the Minority Cannabis Academy, the workforce development program that Okoro and Robinson launched in 2022. 

If it sounds circular, it’s meant to be. Robinson and Okoro are creating a business model that supports itself and the communities that it's in. These two are dedicated to the plant and to empowering the communities that have been so disproportionately affected by the War on Drugs - communities that have been historically left behind and kept out of the market in legal states. 

Ann Forkutza, head of Social Impact at Dutchie, joked that when she approached Robinson last year, he had never even heard of NECANN. What a difference a year makes!