Caution and cash conservation were the prevailing themes at the opening of MJBizCon, the world's largest annual marijuana-industry conference, after the sinkhole that formed under marijuana stocks this year deepened concerns of a shakeout ahead.
Across the city, pot companies were still planning plenty of after-parties, including at a bar with a terpene mixologist. What's more, conference organizer Marijuana Business Daily expected 30,000 people to make the trek to the Las Vegas Convention Center for the main portion of the conference, up from 27,600 last year.
But a bit more sobriety has been injected into the atmosphere this year, so far. And during the conference's first two days, geared toward investors, analysts and investors signaled a tough stretch ahead for the industry as opportunities for financing shrivel up.
"I would be very thoughtful with cash," Codie Sanchez, managing director at cannabis private equity firm Entourage Effect Capital, said during a panel on Monday. She added that for smaller companies trying to expand, "the safest move is protecting the house."
During an interview before that panel, she said her firm slowed its pace of investments in cannabis. She added that she felt that companies would need 12 months of cash on hand to weather the coming storm.