Top 10 Cannabis Events of 2022

After two years of Zoom calls and social distancing, 2022 has us craving human interaction in our personal, and professional, lives.

Luckily enough, this industry caters to both with some epic trade shows and culture-crafted events that look to make a big comeback in-person this year, providing a place for friends and colleagues to gather safely face to face and potentially make new friends and business contacts.

The cannabis product marketplace is now global, and the must-see events that promote it reflect that worldwide appeal. So, join us here on a globetrotting trip to check out theTop 10 Cannabis Events of 2022 and you can start planning your own getaways in the months ahead.

 

10. Terptown Throwdown - Spencer, Massachusetts - August 19 - 20, 2022

Holding it down on the east coast is an up-and-coming grassroots event called the Terptown Throwdown, held each summer in Spencer, Massachusetts.

Hamstrung for the past two years like everything else, the Terptown Throwdown looks to make a major comeback in 2022 by enticing some of the most influential and authentic personalities from cannabis culture nationwide to their event.

The event also prominently features a homegrown cannabis competition, as the organizers are staunch advocates for homegrowing rights which, as we know, don’t always automatically come along with “legalization”. 

This foundation in advocacy earns our respect and we can’t wait to see this event rise for years to come.

 

9. International Cannabis Business Conference - Multiple Locations Throughout the Year

With a rapidly growing past guest list spanning over 80 different countries, the International Cannabis Business Conference (ICBC) is one of the most widely respected global cannabis events among the corporate cannabis class.

Don’t get it twisted, though, ICBC earns authenticity with foundational planks focused on scientific studies and social justice movements.

From entrepreneurs to national lawmakers, you never know who you might strike up a conversation with at these ICBC events in 2022:

• Barcelona, Spain - March 10, 2022 - B2B Expo
• Berlin, Germany - July 18, 2022 - Global Investment Forum
• Berlin, Germany - July 19 - 20, 2022 - B2B Expo
• Zurich, Switzerland - September 8 - 9, 2022 - Global Investment Forum

 

8. MJ Biz Con - Las Vegas, Nevada - November 15 - 18

 

Once the King of the Hill when it came to Business-to-Business cannabis conferences, MJ Biz Con has suffered a bit from its own success, spawning pop-up parties and networking opportunities all around Sin City the same week that Biz Con is going on.

Even if the high price tag on an entry ticket dissuades you, just know that once you’re on the sprawling showroom floors of MJ Biz Con inside the Las Vegas Convention Center, you will suddenly realize just how big the cannabis world is.

This realization can either petrify you or motivate you and this event will reveal your true reaction.

You can literally spend the entire time of the show methodically making your way up and down every aisle and there’s a good chance you still won’t see every booth. Of course, there are usually some top-tier speaker panels happening throughout the event as well, so prioritizing can be tough.

Everyone knows, though, the real “business” gets done right outside the convention center where hundreds of the who’s-who in cannabis regularly gather to… well…sample products ;)

Registration for the 2022 event begins in May - Here is some more info from theMJ Biz Con site:

Celebrating its 11th anniversary in 2022, MJBizCon is the largest, and most anticipated event of the cannabis business year.

The award-winning show is held at Las Vegas Convention Center and showcases over 250,000 square feet of exhibits, 3-day conference, pre-show forums, and over 140 speakers plus extraordinary networking and partnership-building opportunities.

More than 30,000 cannabis executives are expected to attend in 2022.

 

7. SXSW - Austin, Texas - March 11 - 20, 2022

A common question about South by Southwest - aka SXSW - is a simple one… what the heck is it?

As this monolithic annual gathering in Austin continues to gain immense popularity and influence across the entire paradigm of American culture, it becomes harder to encapsulate in a simple description. But here goes… SXSW was founded in 1987 with a mission to help creative people achieve their goals in a celebration of the convergence of tech, film, music, education, and culture.

In short, all the cool sh*t starts atSXSW.

In recent years, as well as in 2022, the cannabis movement will be represented as SXSW bonafide cool sh*t and that matters because of how powerful the event’s influence over mainstream society is.

On March 14th and 15th of this year, Weedmaps will present a SXSW Summit titledCannabis Industry Evolution which is sure to shine a light of truth on both the highs and lows of “legal” weed, hopefully motivating people to seek more understanding about the plant and its advocates.

That’s some cool sh*t right there!

 

6. California State Fair Cannabis Expo - Sacramento, California - July 15 - 31, 2022

Listen to us very closely here, fam… consider buying stock in those deep-fried Twinkie carts this summer because cannabis is coming to the California State Fair for the first time ever!

That’s right, hot on the heels of the positive PR that the plant is sure to pull from SXSW in Texas comes the state friggin’ fair in Cali! Not only will the fair feature a full cannabis-centric expo hosted by iconic community ambassadors like Swami Chaitanya and Etienne Fontaine, but it will also have a competition to see who submits the best cannabis flower.

Much like ribbons will be awarded for prized pumpkins, tomatoes, and livestock, the agricultural product (by nature if not by law) of cannabis and those who farm it will also have their time to shine.

Though theCalifornia State Fair Cannabis Expo is bound to feel a bit more sterile than some of the others on this list, this is a huge step toward mainstream acceptance and finally snuffing out the negative stigma unfairly attached to the plant and the culture at its roots.

 

5. National Cannabis Festival - Washington, D.C. - April 23, 2022

Founded in 2015 in our nation’s capital, the National Cannabis Festivalis an annual one-day event held at the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium festival grounds, bringing thousands of attendees and hundreds of attendees, artists, vendors, sponsors, and speakers together with a common focus on the music, advocacy, education, and activism related to cannabis.

Not far from where pot prohibition posts up alive and well in the U.S. Congress, rally-goers will be greeted with the familiar herbal aroma that gathers them all together, well before they even get through the gates. 

Each year,National Cannabis Festival attendees have many attractions to choose from, including a day-long concert lineup, a sprawling cannabis expo, a series of in-depth panels on the marijuana movement, and speeches from an array of legislators, activists, physicians, researchers, and thought leaders.

2022 promises to deliver more of that same good stuff.

 

4. CHAMPS Trade Show - Multiple Locations Throughout the Year

The first CHAMPS Trade Show of 2022 just wrapped up in Las Vegas, but if you missed it FEAR NOT! There will be more this year, for sure, as this crew never rests it seems!

Hands down the must-attend event for anyone involved with the B2B side of smoke shops, vape shops, dispensaries, cannabis counter-culture, adult novelty shops, or C-Stores. This includes online marketers and branders, entrepreneurs, glassblowers, and cannabis industry professionals who are seeking to grow in their market sectors and gain current knowledge and product opportunities to better leverage their business for success.

Whether you attend aCHAMPS Trade Show in Vegas, Denver, Atlantic City, or anywhere else they set up shop, you can be sure to find the widest array of heady accessories, hand-blown glass, the top weed grinders, and just about anything else you can think of… and probably several booths full of stuff you never thought of before!

Big business gets done at CHAMPS so if you make cool stuff, you should be there, and if you buy cool stuff to sell to others, you should definitely be there.

 

3. Spannabis - Barcelona, Spain - March 11 - 13, 2022

So much of cannabis history and culture was literally bred in Europe, and Spannabis has long served as the event that aimed to promote and preserve that fact.

From American-made weed grinders to rare seeds and genetics, anything and everything cannabis-related makes an appearance at Spannabis, and of course Barcelona serves as a spectacular backdrop for early day exploring and late night afterparties - both of which are always epic.

For real though, if you do go toSpannabis in 2022, try to book a few extra days at least on the front or back end of the trip and soak up the laidback local scene before you return to the daily grind.

 

2. Hall of Flowers - Palm Springs, California - May 4 - 5, 2022

In a relatively short amount of time, the team at Hall of Flowers have created a B2B experience high above any other, offering an authentic hybrid blend of 3-piece suits and well-kept beards in a perfect reflection of the diversity we know exists in the cannabis community.

Hall of Flowers does not run from the outlaw, outcast past of cannabis, but rather builds an aesthetically pleasing bridge where those old school operators can meet today’s rapidly corporatizing industry midway, and stake their claim in a legal and potentially lucrative marketplace.

As with Biz Con, it is not cheap to participate inHall of Flowers but the rave reviews that follow every event speak for themselves and its popularity continues to grow with both vendors and attendees.

 

1. Green Street Festival & Emerald Cup Awards - Los Angeles, California - May 14, 2022

Highest on our list of the Top 10 Cannabis Events of 2022 is, appropriately, the one that everyone is talking about… the inaugural Green Street Festival featuring the 18th Annual Emerald Cup Awards!

Anyone who knows, knows that there ain’t no party like a Green St. party, cuz those Green St. parties go HARD!

This first-of-its-kind one-day-banger will take place in a still-undisclosed location somewhere  dope in Downtown Los Angeles, probably not too far from the breathtaking Green St. building.

Thousands of avid cannabis connoisseurs will descend on what is sure to be a game-changing day in cannabis events as SoCal cannabis culture and NorCal cannabis culture converge to see who will walk away with a 2022 Emerald Cup Award.

The competition is live now (you can stillENTER HERE until February 25th, 2022) with over 50 categories covering all forms of cannabis consumption, and over 90 expert judges selected from the grassroots of the community to choose the best of the best in Cali cannabis entries.

Those winners will receive their Emerald Cup Awards and deserved recognition live, in person, on stage at theGreen Street Festival and we can’t wait to watch it all happen! Yep, we will have a booth full of top-shelfPhoenician cannabis grinders on deck at the event to keep you on your grind.

So, there you have it! Pretty much no matter what neck of the woods you are in - from California to Barcelona - we’ve turned you on to the best cannabis events worldwide in 2022, now get out there and enjoy them and maybe we’ll see you there!