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Went to this in Santa Rosa last weekend. I think I saw the future of cannabis and some of it looks great and some of it sucks.
The good:
At least in CA, there are so many vertically integrated producers as to be overwhelming. I assume it is a creature of that state's dispensary system (either required by regulation or by business necessity) where the same entity develops and selects the cultivar, runs it for flower production, manufactures its own concentrates, and maybe even runs it for seed production and sells clones. I assume many of these functions are outsourced, but at the end of the day the consumer can buy a proprietary cultivar's flower, concentrates, and sometimes even seed or clones. The only thing that was omitted from the vertical integration is the retail dispensary/delivery service itself. Not all producers do it all but it seems to be a popular business model.
As noted, the number of producers at the event was overwhelming. Not being from CA, I didn't really understand how crowded the market is. I consumed excellent cannabis in various forms. Some better than others but many were noteworthy (Cookies - The Fly; Cookies - Orangutan; Purple City Genetics - Apple Fritter, many more). Not many autoflowers offered. I picked up some Purple City Orange Kush auto seeds but not many other breeders were offering autos.
Long story short, the cannabis consumer in CA has a huge number of choices in terms of cultivar and form.
The bad:
The sheer number of producers is mind blowing, especially for a non-CA guy not familiar with major brands. This was much more of a consumer-oriented event than a grower-oriented event. I saw a couple of the educational presentations but they were not very strong. My friend saw the Ed Rosenthall panel on Sunday and was disappointed as well.
I did talk with a couple of mid-sized growers who said the CA legal weed system is FUBAR (not new news). Taxes are way too high and the number and distribution of the licensed dispensaries statewide doesn't even approach market demand. The supply side is glutted. So: high demand, restricted availability, low margins due to high taxes, a massive amount of weed = healthy black market. The consensus is the current system is unsustainable.
The ugly:
The big players (Cookies, etc.) had massive multi-hundred thousand dollar displays with giant high res videos, ear bleeding hip hop, etc. It was VERY Vegas. I felt like they were trying to sell me a car. All these big guys had long lines. This is the future - a few massive players who can afford substantial marketing budgets. Not to say there weren't smaller operators there - it was that the big displays got most of the attention. Predictably.
In summary - had a great time and smoked/vaped a lot of excellent cannabis. It was an eye -opening experience and confusing for a guy for a prohibition state. I didn't like what it portends for the future of cannabis - but I guess I am not surprised.
The good:
At least in CA, there are so many vertically integrated producers as to be overwhelming. I assume it is a creature of that state's dispensary system (either required by regulation or by business necessity) where the same entity develops and selects the cultivar, runs it for flower production, manufactures its own concentrates, and maybe even runs it for seed production and sells clones. I assume many of these functions are outsourced, but at the end of the day the consumer can buy a proprietary cultivar's flower, concentrates, and sometimes even seed or clones. The only thing that was omitted from the vertical integration is the retail dispensary/delivery service itself. Not all producers do it all but it seems to be a popular business model.
As noted, the number of producers at the event was overwhelming. Not being from CA, I didn't really understand how crowded the market is. I consumed excellent cannabis in various forms. Some better than others but many were noteworthy (Cookies - The Fly; Cookies - Orangutan; Purple City Genetics - Apple Fritter, many more). Not many autoflowers offered. I picked up some Purple City Orange Kush auto seeds but not many other breeders were offering autos.
Long story short, the cannabis consumer in CA has a huge number of choices in terms of cultivar and form.
The bad:
The sheer number of producers is mind blowing, especially for a non-CA guy not familiar with major brands. This was much more of a consumer-oriented event than a grower-oriented event. I saw a couple of the educational presentations but they were not very strong. My friend saw the Ed Rosenthall panel on Sunday and was disappointed as well.
I did talk with a couple of mid-sized growers who said the CA legal weed system is FUBAR (not new news). Taxes are way too high and the number and distribution of the licensed dispensaries statewide doesn't even approach market demand. The supply side is glutted. So: high demand, restricted availability, low margins due to high taxes, a massive amount of weed = healthy black market. The consensus is the current system is unsustainable.
The ugly:
The big players (Cookies, etc.) had massive multi-hundred thousand dollar displays with giant high res videos, ear bleeding hip hop, etc. It was VERY Vegas. I felt like they were trying to sell me a car. All these big guys had long lines. This is the future - a few massive players who can afford substantial marketing budgets. Not to say there weren't smaller operators there - it was that the big displays got most of the attention. Predictably.
In summary - had a great time and smoked/vaped a lot of excellent cannabis. It was an eye -opening experience and confusing for a guy for a prohibition state. I didn't like what it portends for the future of cannabis - but I guess I am not surprised.
I don't think the system will fail only the small growers. That has been the goal of big business all along. The thorn in their side is that along with the legalization of use for Medical and then Recreational came the ability to grow our own and give up to an oz. to any adult. 
