The Chicago Reader, MOCA modern cannabis dispensary, and Emporium Arcade Bar have joined together to present Yes We Cann, a cannabis market and symposium, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2019.
This will be a day focused on educating and empowering Chicagoans about cannabis and hemp, while giving a platform to local businesses, educators, and professionals dedicated to the field. A marketplace will be held at Emporium Logan Square at 2363 N. Milwaukee Ave. while cannabis panel conversations take place next door at Chicago Distilling, 2359 N. Milwaukee Ave. 12-4 p.m. Emporium Logan Square and Chicago Distilling are 21+ venues.
A separate two-credit CME/CMU course for medical professionals will be offered from 10 a.m.-noon; tickets are required for the continuing-education credits and are available for purchase here. The marketplace and cannabis conversations are free, and the first 100 people to RSVP will receive game tokens for the Emporium arcade.
This event is supported by Grassroots, Hoban Law Group, Cresco Cannabis, and Green Care Medical.
“With cannabis culture evolving so much in Illinois, we believe it’s our responsibility to provide opportunities to help educate our community as the perceptions shift and laws change,” Tracy Baim, the Reader’s publisher shared.
The marketplace will feature vendors selling goods and sharing resources about the potential benefits of cannabis and CBD, including cultivators, wellness practitioners, educators, CBD and hemp body care makers, CBD edibles, and more. DJ All the Way Kay will provide music.
The cannabis conversations at Chicago Distilling will feature a diverse array of professionals, leaders, and activists discussing the following topics: The medical benefits of cannabis, understanding the new laws that will be enacted in 2020, cooking with cannabis, and social justice and racial equity in the cannabis industry.
The ticketed class from 10 a.m.-noon for medical professionals is $75 for two CME credits and $40 for two CEU credits and will take a dive into learning cannabis terminology, the molecular components of the plant, and how they interact with the human body. Tickets are limited.
The Chicago Reader will present its inaugural “Cannabest Awards” at noon during the expo at Emporium. The four key legislators who lobbied for the change in cannabis law will each be honored for their work. They are: state Senators Toi Hutchinson and Heather Steans, and state Representatives Jehan Gordon-Booth and Kelly Cassidy.
Illinois Women in Cannabis and Clergy for a New Drug Policy will be honored for their work on lobbying for change in Illinois. More awards will be announced soon, including winners of the Reader’s annual Best of Chicago awards, which for the first time include cannabis categories.
Please note that no THC products will be permitted or distributed on site, and that all attendees must present identification proving they are 21 or older.
For vendor or sponsor information, contact tbaim@chicagoreader.com.
The Chicago Reader is a media company creating and curating political and cultural coverage by and for Chicagoans, including highlighting underrepresented communities and stories. As a social enterprise, we reinvest all of our profits to achieve sustainability, grow our reach, and ensure the fulfillment of our mission. The Reader has been a fearless, innovative, and nationally respected media voice in Chicago for nearly 50 years. In print every week and daily online, we are tastemakers, incisive critics, and agenda-setters. Learn more at chicagoreader.com.