IgniteIt D.C. Marks a New Chapter for Benzinga Regulars
- Benzinga Cannabis events were known for their concentrated presence of industry decisionmakers and valuable networking opportunities, often centered around a single hotel and informal settings like the hotel bar.
- The core team behind Benzinga Cannabis events, including Jason Raznick and Javier Hasse, left to start a new event brand called IgniteIt Cannabis, continuing similar one-day event formats.
- The IgniteIt Cannabis event in Washington, D.C. featured discussions around recent major industry news like the “hemp ban” and its potential economic impacts, highlighting concerns about regulatory clarity affecting hemp farmers.
- A key highlight of the conference was a speech by former presidential candidate Cory Booker, who emphasized ongoing efforts for cannabis policy reform, contributing to an engaging and productive day of programming and networking.
For me, Benzinga Cannabis events were always a reliable place to meet people across the industry. As I liked to say, once you got swept up in the Benzinga blitzkrieg, time would fly by and you would find yourself a day or two later exhausted but with plenty of new leads and connections. I also used to joke that Benzinga Cannabis events had a high “density of decisionmakers” under one roof compared to many other cannabis conferences. They weren’t spread across multiple buildings, and most attendees stayed in the same hotel, which naturally made the hotel bar a central spot for informal networking.
Which is why I was initially disappointed to learn that the brain trust behind the Benzinga Cannabis events — Jason Raznick and his team, including Javier Hasse, along with Elliot and Patrick (whom I jokingly refer to as the Laudable Lane Lads) — were leaving Benzinga. Thankfully, they weren’t venturing too far, and instead began organizing events under a new brand: IgniteIt Cannabis.
IgniteIt Cannabis started off with a couple of one-day events (similar to what Benzinga had introduced), but I wasn’t able to make the California stop. That’s why I was particularly motivated to attend their one-day event on November 17 in Washington, D.C., even if it meant catching a train from New York Penn Station at 5 a.m.
The conference coincided with some major industry news one week earlier — the so-called “hemp ban.” Unsurprisingly, it became a major topic of conversation throughout the day, and I heard a number of thoughtful perspectives on its potential implications. For example, a friend pointed out that industry economist Beau Whitney focused on one practical concern: if regulatory clarity doesn’t arrive soon, hemp farmers may delay planting this upcoming season, which could ripple through supply for hemp-derived products later on.
For me, though, one of the highlights of the conference was seeing Cory Booker speak. It’s not often in this industry that you get the chance to hear directly from a former presidential candidate who has been consistently engaged on cannabis policy. His remarks emphasized the ongoing effort to move common-sense reform forward in Washington, and it was encouraging to hear that perspective firsthand.
All in all, it was a day filled with timely programming and productive networking, both outside the sessions and during the cocktail hour afterward. Which is why I’m looking forward to IgniteIt’s upcoming event in my backyard of New Jersey on February 10 — and continuing the conversations started in D.C.