If you want to hear from some of the top minds and trendsetters in the cannabis industry, you might want to start making travel arrangements for Austin for March 2020. The 2020 SXSW conference will include 30 panels, podcasts, and meetup sessions as part of its “Cannabusiness” track.

Organizers chose those session topics from more than 150 suggestions submitted. On the SXSW website, organizers wrote that the sessions are designed for “professionals experienced in this rapidly-evolving industry, as well as introductions for newcomers who are just starting to enter this space.”

Cannabis Speakers at SXSW

Organizers have lined up an interesting group of cannabis experts as speakers. They include:

• Cat Packer, executive director of the Los Angeles Cannabis Department of Cannabis Regulation
• Steve DeAngelo, chairman emeritus of Harborside, Inc.
• Cassandra Farrington, CEO and co-founder of Marijuana Business Daily.
• Mary Pryor, co-founder of Cannaclusive
• Eleanor Kuntz, co-founder and CEO of LeafWorks
• Kris Krane, president of 4Front Ventures
• Tahira Rehmatullah, managing director of Hypur Ventures

Two sessions have been highlighted as Discover 2020 sessions. One is called “The Future of Cannabis is Colored” and focuses on creating an equitable cannabis industry that supports those impacted by the War on Drugs. Panelists include Christine De La Rosa of the People’s Dispensary, Wanda James of Simply Pure and Melek Dexter of Re-Up.

The second is called Navigating an Emerging Cannabis Beverage Market and will feature a panel of beverage makers, scientists, end-users and others from across the cannabis beverage supply chain.

Other sessions cover a wealth of topics. Among them:

• “Blazing Trails: Marketing in the Cannabis Space”
• “Cannabis in Canada: What We’ve Learned.”
• “Cash in King, But Credit Is Power.”
• “Future of CBD: Health, Research and Beauty Trends”
• “Is Cannabis Media Coverage Fair or Biased.”

The SXSW Conference

Founded in 1987, SXSW (South by Southwest) has become famous for putting together festivals that “celebrate convergence” of the worlds of film, music, interactive and comedy. The conferences bring together creative thinkers and leaders in many industries.

SXSW events draw both experienced professionals and “newbies” who want to learn the latest in their specific industry while also getting the chance to network with top minds from around the globe.

The event features hundreds of sessions that are grouped in 20 conference tracks. In addition to cannabusiness, those tracks include advertising and brand experience, climate and social action, connection and culture, creating and monetizing music, design, experimental storytelling, game industry, government and politics, media and journalism, professional development, space, sports and the tech industry.

The 2020 SXSW will take place from March 13-22 in Austin.