CLEVELAND — The Ohio Cannabis Health and Business Summit is about to kick off its fourth year in Cleveland.
It joins one of the most historic years for tourism in the city, where Destination Cleveland just announced there were more than 18 million visits to Cuyahoga County in 2023, which is up more than 2% from the year before.
Over 5,000 people are expected to attend the IX center for the two-day Ohio Cannabis Health and Business Summit on Friday and Saturday.
There will be over 70 speakers this year honing in on the business side of the cannabis industry now that recreational marijuana is legal in Ohio.
Cleveland has a little something for everyone, and Destination Cleveland is capitalizing on that.
“This is a historical year for us,” said Gordon Taylor, Chief Sales Officer, Destination Cleveland. “It's extremely successful. We’ve had a lot of mega national events.”
Some of those mega-national events were the women’s NCAA Final Four Tournament, the Annual American Society Of Association Executives Convention and the WWE Summerslam event.
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Taylor said those events brought historic cash flow into the city, but that’s not the end game.
“When they come to Cleveland, we want them to always remember how it felt to be here,” Taylor said.
That’s the same sentiment Lenny Barry, CEO and Founder of Ohio Cannabis Health and Business Summit, also known as OCHBS, wants his visitors to take away.
“We are a great city, born and raised here,” said Barry. “I love it here. I think we have great people and a great industry, so why wouldn’t they want to come.”
Barry said in OCHBS’s first year in 2019, there were around 600 attendees, but this year he’s expecting over 5,000.
“People are coming from all over the country,” Barry said. “Last year we sold about 380 rooms to just people from out of town and I think we have already passed that already.”
Over 70 speakers will attend, and while health remains a main topic at OCHBS, Barry said more time will be focused on the growing Ohio recreational industry.
“Teaching about financing, how to raise money, how to acquire licenses, what do you do when you get a license, how do you stay compliant,” said Barry.
Barry is also taking attendees downtown for a night, renting out the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for a networking event Friday evening, helping give visitors a real feel for what Cleveland offers.
“I am trying to bring them here right, give them something to see, and introduce them to the industry here,” Barry said.
On top of the speakers are multiple seminars for attendees to sit in on.
There will also be fun demonstrations like cooking with cannabis, including vendors throughout the IX Center.
Those vendors can not sell weed, but they will show all the latest innovative technology in the weed industry.
