THE NECANN WEEKEND

I had a 5 hour flight from LAX to Boston for NECANN. Because I’m such a rockstar employee, I pushed myself to be productive during the flight, and work on something that would set me up for success at the trade show. I watched The Departed. By the time I got to my hotel, I wasn’t pronouncing my r’s, yelled about the Red Sox’s pathetic coaching staff, and was an informant for the Irish mafia. Massachusetts cultivators would have no choice but to work with Green Rebates.

Upon surrounding myself folks Mass cannabis scene, you could sense a thin layer of frustration, thanks to the Massachusetts Eliminate Recreational Marijuana Sales and Allow Limited Possession Initiative, which would ultimately put an end to recreational marijuana sales across the state if passed. When considering the work it took Massachusetts to legalize cannabis in 2016 and become a trailblazer of the east coast, it’s hard to not view this one step forward, two steps back. The thought alone of hardworking people passionate about providing medicine to patients in their belovd state being unrightfully forced to pick a different industry is heartbreaking. But like our friend Cannabiscapes said when asked about the repeal, “everyone is on board with saying f*** y’all.” The false-narrative pushers picked the wrong group of people to mess with.

The trade show itself felt like MJBiz East. It was packed with excited consumers, the top cannabis brands in the world, and a handful of respected MA cultivators. It was the first show I’ve been to that didn’t die down until the very last hour of day two. It struck the perfect balance between B2B and B2C, feeling just as much like a weed party as a networking event. There’s a reason Boston is constantly at the forefront of pop culture: it’s not just the history, the food, or the architecture. It’s the personalities. Everybody from Massachusetts grows up with thick skin, partially because of the weather, and particularly because of the ball-busting nature of its inhabitants. Funnily enough, this mentality translates to the cannabis industry. The cream truly rises to the top out there, thanks to everybody holding others accountable. Nobody is going to let a bad idea or wack tactics go unchallenged. Like our friend Joe B said, “we’re from Boston kid, we don’t f*** around with our weed.”

NECANN 2026 felt like the hottest event in Massachusetts that weekend, which says a lot considering The Red Sox were playing the Yankees. Our booth was 10x10 but memorable, as we had a baseball pitching game and gave out hundreds of dollars to a few folks who definitely earned a tryout with the Savannah Bananas. Until next time, Boston!