We had a great time in Las Vegas last week for Marijuana Business Daily’s 5th annual Marijuana Business Conference and Expo. The energy was great following such great election results for the cannabis industry. In fact, people were so excited that the show not only sold out its 7,500 tickets, but it sold out an additional 2,500 tickets (and were still turning more people away) making this show one of the largest we’ve ever seen! Ten thousand people showed up proving that the cannabis industry is here to stay.

Based on conversations we had with people at the show, we see that the industry is making huge steps forward toward being a legitimate player in the economy. We talked to so many people new to the market from all different industry backgrounds. It’s so exciting to be a part of a space that has really become a melting pot of great ideas from all over. With each new state to legalize, technological advancements soon follow as was evidenced by the multitude of awesome, new, innovative products at the show.

Because the show was so huge, we got the opportunity to speak with so many people from different parts of the industry about what they were concerned about and what they needed. Here are some of the common themes we heard:

First, as more states come on board and the cannabis market becomes more saturated, the only way to stay competitive will be to reduce operating expenses. To deal with this, growers are opting toward more efficient grows. HVAC can be one of the more energy intensive parts of cultivation so we saw a lot of excitement around Surna’s efficient climate control options.

The second trend we heard a lot about is the tighter restrictions put onto pest and fungus control. California and some other states intend to have strict testing protocols, making it increasingly harder for farmers to use pesticides and fungicides as their primary means to maintain healthy crops. As you can imagine, there was quite a lot of talk around biosecurity control and moving to more controlled, indoor cultivation facilities as a way to work in accordance with tight restrictions.

This year, we debuted our newest product– the Hybrid Building– which couldn’t have been timelier. People seemed to really love our new Hybrid Building because it allows cultivators to have a totally sealed, indoor garden which would allow for better pest control, while still using the sun as it’s primary source of light, which could reduce energy consumption by 60%. From our many conversations over the week, we think that these hybrid growing options are the future of cannabis cultivation.

These trade shows are exciting for Surna because it gives us a chance to meet, hear from and engage with the people we aim to serve face-to-face. We strive to provide efficient, reliable and intelligent technology to the cannabis industry and getting your feedback on our products is incredibly valuable. Thanks to everyone who stopped by to see us and we hope to see everyone at the next show!