BIRMINGHAM, Mich. (WWJ) -- As the licensing of recreational marijuana sales is set to take effect next month in Michigan, attendance was high at the annual Cannabis Industry Summit at Townsend Hotel in Birmingham Thursday afternoon.
Hundreds of budding cannabis entrepreneurs showed up for the largest collection of growers, processers and provisioning center operators in the state. Participants were encouraged to take part in four-minute "speed networking" sessions -- like speed dating -- to share their goods, services and business plans.
Among the panelists, Craig Aronoff is an attorney who specializes in cannabis.
"We have opportunities for investments, we have opportunities for passive investors, plus operators," Aronoff told WWJ's Jon Hewett. "What we’re seeing is that from the evolution of the laws, that we’re finally able to get companies with feet on the ground and we’re starting to see that in communities that embraced it early and those facilities are online and those that’ll follow will be coming in very soon thereafter."
Recreational marijuana will soon be legal in Michigan, after state regulators last week announced a rule change that will allow some businesses that are already licensed for medical marijuana sales to transfer some products for recreational sales beginning Dec. 1.
Widespread sales are expected to expand in the New Year.