The Flower Expo Illinois recently released recordings of its Seshes taken during its inaugural Illinois open-consumption cannabis event. The Flower Expo hosted dispensaries, cannabis brands, and budtenders in a packed Sarabande from 12-10 p.m. Tuesday, March 25, and during the afternoon ran several Seshes in which a panel of professionals answered questions about the Illinois cannabis industry and more.

Illinois News Joint Founder, Jason Brown, participated as a panelist for the “From Seed to Story: Leaders in Cannabis and Illinois Media” panel at 2 p.m. Other panelists include Ambrose Jackson (Chairman & CEO, The 1937 Group), Ryan Hedrick (Chief Cannabis Officer, Legacy Illinois), and Elizabeth Rice (Regional Sales Director, KIVA Confections).

Other panels incuded:

12:30 PM — Seshes: Navigating the Illinois Retail Landscape

Charmaine Chua (SVP of Sales, Sunderstorm/KANHA

John Hirsch (Purchasing & Procurement Manager, Sociale Dispensary

Brittney Youkhana (District Manager, BLOC Dispensary)

Moderator: Chris Violas (CEO, BLAZE)

1:15 PM — Seshes: Consumer Cannabis Marketing: Lessons from Dispensaries and Influencers

Sarah Zelman (VP of Marketing, Hatch Dispensary)

Keevin Cox (General Manager, Village Dispensary)

Elanta Slowek (Creative Director, Blazebox Media)

Moderator: Patrick Vinson (Couch Lock’d / Midwest Dazed)

2:45 PM — Seshes: Think Global, Act Local: Adapting National Campaigns for Local Impact

Angela Cheng (Chief Marketing Officer, Sunderstorm/KANHA)

Jen Denis (VP Creative, Green Thumb Industries)

Eli Korer (CEO, Dabstract)

Moderator: Omar Delgado (VP of Retail, Ivy Hall)

3:30 PM — Seshes: Challenges & Opportunities for Illinois Social Equity Operators

Reese Xavier (CEO & Managing Partner, HT23 Growers)

Crystal Anderson (CFO, Excelleaf Dispensary)

Ted Parks (Owner, Moetta’s Transport)

Moderator: Victoria Williams (Founder & CEO, Wake N Vape)

Email Flower Expo at ops@theflowerexpo.com or find Flower Expo on Instagram @theflowerexpo, LinkedIn, X @theflowerexpo, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok.

Flower Expo also hosts a B2B event in Massachusetts and Michigan.

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