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The first Southwest Cannabis Conference and Expo rolls into Phoenix

Sonja Haller, The Republic | azcentral.com 12:19 p.m. MST October 22, 2015

The first Southwest Cannabis Conference and Expo at the Phoenix Convention Center this month assembles big names and the best products in the growing industry.

A one-day career fair kicks off the conference on Monday, Oct. 26.

More than 40 presentations and 300 vendors selling items such as indoor grow lights, hemp clothing and cannabis insurance continue over Tuesday, Oct. 27 and Wednesday, Oct. 28.

Among the presentations:

Kickstarting your Cannabis Career: A conversation with the star of CNN’s docu-series "High Profits."

Existing Marijuana Laws: Southwestern States

Indoor v. Outdoor Cultivation: Sun or science?

Cannabis Stocks & Wealth Management

"Just like alcohol, it's here to stay," Downing said. "What this conference demonstrates is that it can be handled in an intelligent manner where it can be taxed, regulated and people can generate resources to either combat (marijuana) or build roads with it. With more transparency, people are coming to understand that."

A sweeping bipartisan bill introduced in 2015 could soon legalize medical marijuana in all American states.

Represented in large numbers in the presentations are women. An August 2015 story in "Newsweek" magazine titled "The Women of Weed" said that cannabis could be the first billion-dollar industry not dominated by men.

Cheryl Shuman, known as the "Martha Stewart of Marijuana" and a self-made billionaire in the industry is among a group of panelists in the "Power Women of the Cannabis Industry" discussion. Katherine Grimm, a cannabis consultant featured in CNN's docu-series "High Profits" is also part of the panel, as is Scottsdale resident Megan Stone. Stone has designed medical marijuana and recreational use dispensaries in nine states. The highly regulated industry presents design challenges because states vary on how the product can be displayed and who has access to it in front and in back of the store, among other rules. Megan Stone, of Scottsdale, is a dispensary designer

Megan Stone, of Scottsdale, is a dispensary designer who will be among the panelists for the "Power Women of the Cannabis Industry" discussion at the Southwest Cannabis Conference and Expo. (Photo: Craig Durkee)

Stone said her job is to design a store that makes people feel comfortable about buying a product she believes can "save people's lives."

"For such a wonderful product, people should be able to acquire it in a way that is dignified and respectable," Stone said. "I really want to provide a retail experience that paints a better picture."

Arizona law permits use of medicinal marijuana. A 2016 ballot initiative would ask Arizona voters to legalize marijuana for recreational use. Marijuana remains illegal under the federal Controlled Substances Act, but in 2013 the Department of Justice said it would not interfere with laws regulating recreational use of marijuana.

The conference is presented by the Southwest Events Group, MJ Freeway, which sells tracking software for marijuana retailers and New Times Phoenix. Cody Lewis, employee of Mohave Green Choice Cannabis, checks a watering marijuana plant at an indoor grow operation in Mohave Valley. Nick Oza/The Republic

Southwest Cannabis Conference and Expo

What: A two-day conference with speakers and authors from journalists to marijuana cultivation experts to medical professionals to attorney and industry leaders. A career and job fair is the day before the conference.

When: The career and job fair begins at 9 a.m on Oct. 26. The conference and expo presentations begin at 9:30 a.m. on Oct., 27 and 28.

Where: Phoenix Convention Center, 100 N. Third St., Phoenix.

Tickets: A career-fair pass is $50 and provides passes to the expo. Admission to the career fair, conference and expo is $450.

Details: swccexpo.com, 877-775-1568.

More on Demitri Downing, brother of Yuri Downing

Source 2

Finding a sanctuary in Clean Elections

Nov. 15, 2002

No doubt about it. The three guys had fun spending more than $83,000 of taxpayer money running for the state Legislature.

"If it hadn't been fun, I wouldn't have done it at all," says Yuri Downing, who persuaded two friends to run as Libertarian candidates out of District 17, which covers parts of Tempe and Scottsdale.

Under the Clean Elections law, their coffers were filled with government money. Downing, a Senate candidate, got $29,696. His roommates Trevor Clevenger and Paul DeDonati, both House candidates, each received $26,970.

But now the three face the not-so-fun possibility of an investigation into their spending.

Next week, the Clean Elections Commission will vote on whether to audit the trio's campaign reports.

That means Downing, Clevenger and DeDonati will have to defend expenditures such as these:

$216.45 for a meal at Ra Sushi Bar in Scottsdale.

$4,304 in supplies for all three campaigns from Office Max.

$850 in campaign photography.

$5,500 for consulting work on all three campaigns by Demitri Downing, brother of Yuri.

$366 for meals at downtown Scottsdale hot spots, such as Sanctuary, Opium, Pearl and Axis/Radius.

Not to mention the thousands given to friends for doing unspecified "office work" on the campaigns.

Downing says all the expenses are legitimate.

"I followed the letter of the law," he says.

And that's the problem.

The Clean Elections law allows political newcomers to jump into the political proc ess by handing them thousands in free money and letting them spendit in a way they see fit so long as they can justify it as a campaign expense.

These three will surely be held up as poster boys by those who want to junk the Clean Elections law.

Not because opponents of Clean Elections are necessarily stewards of public money.

They just don't want any political newcomers running for office.

Downing says his expense report looks unusual because he ran an unusual campaign. "I had to," he says.

Downing runs a magazine called 944, which chronicles the high-end club scene populated by attractive 20-somethings and 30-somethings. He figured it was an untapped market for votes and thought he would go after it.

"We were at Opium registering people to vote," he says. "We went all out on this because that's where we thought our core was. . . . The hope was that it could get their attention."

Part of that attention-getting was through the witty campaign slogans, dreamed up mainly by his brother, a political consultant in Tucson. The signs read, "No new taxes - less old taxes" and "Don't vote and the weirdo in the next car votes for you."

The trio didn't expect to win. But they hoped to bring some new people into the political process.

Their Election Day totals show they didn't have much success, but Downing is glad they tried. It's what Clean Elections is all about.

"I met probably 5,000 people who never met a candidate for state Senate or state Legislature," Downing says.

Get rid of Clean Elections and it's back to the old way, where candidates are bought and paid for by corporate interests, leading to a tax code full of loopholes for big business and a state deficit of $500 million.

Compared to that price, $83,000 spent on opening up the political races looks like a bargain.

Reach Ruelas at richard.ruelas@arizonarepublic.com or at (602) 444-8473.