It's all business at marijuana convention in Vegas

LAS VEGAS — There's no tie-dye, no free samples and no stereotypical stoners: marijuana is going mainstream and nowhere is that more evident than what's being billed as the world's largest marijuana convention.

The conference here has drawn close to 3,000 people, many of them middle-aged men in suits eagerly discussing the latest legalization efforts, trading tips on distilling pot into hash-infused oil, and debating the finer points of child-resistant packaging.

But even though nearly half of the states have legalized some form of marijuana, the cannabis industry still struggles with both its identity and reputation. One example: The casino hosting the event has asked reporters not to mention its name. And this is an industry experts say will be worth $8 billion annually within five years.

"I'm seeing a definite skew toward the legitimate businesses and less and less of that weird factor," said Joe Hodas, a spokesman for the Colorado-based edibles manufacturer Dixie Elixrs. "These are real, valid business opportunities."

This trade show largely looks and feels like any other trade show: exhibitors demonstrating the latest technology or innovation, panels discussing upcoming legal changes affecting the industry, business meetings scheduled for the Starbucks around the corner.

Because it's marijuana, however, things are little different. Vendors selling grow lights demonstrate on basil and radish plants. Display cases are stocked with glass jars of dried moss. Extraction machines demonstrate on hops, a cousin to the marijuana plant. Convention center security workers circulate through the crowd.

Exhibitors are also inadvertently showing off how prosaic mainstream marijuana cultivation and sale feels, offering guidance on workers' compensation laws and insurance and explaining how to accept credit cards for a product that remains totally illegal at the federal level. In short, it's a pot convention without a single ounce of pot, since Nevada's medical marijuana system is not yet running.

The conflict between state and federal laws is also very much on display, with many of the attendees coming from the medical marijuana community, which legally has a far smaller market share than the recreational markets of Colorado and Washington states today, and Oregon, Alaska and, potentially, Washington D.C., following the fall elections in which voters there approved similar systems.

That marijuana has been widely used for decades in America is a given. This week's conference, formally known as the third annual Marijuana Business Conference and Expo, is dedicated to showcasing the business opportunities that come from selling something so widely desired that every user has broken federal law to do so.

"We stand at the intersection of a movement that's been driven by civil liberties and civil rights ... and the transformation of a multibillion-dollar industry from illegal to legal," said Ethan Nadelman, founder of the Drug Policy Alliance, which advocates for lighter prison sentences, more drug-treatment options and decriminalization of drugs like marijuana.

Organizers and industry experts say the national trend toward marijuana tolerance and legalization is driving rapid growth in an industry some consider the first significant new marketplace in decades. The keynote speaker for this year's conference was Ben Cohen, co-founder of Vermont-based Ben & Jerry's ice cream, who urged the assembled entrepreneurs to use their influence to change government and lobby for social change, the way other business groups do.

Looking over the massive crowd, Cohen said few Americans give to political candidates. Instead, it's corporations and businesses setting the agenda, he said, and the still-fragmented marijuana industry hasn't been a significant player. Thanks to the federal ban and a patchwork of state regulations, there are few truly national-level marijuana businesses.

Cohen said those smaller voices can make a change, and he urged cannabis entrepreneurs to take a stand against laws responsible for the jailing of young black men when their white counterparts go free. He also urged marijuana businesses to back efforts to remove big money from politics.

"When business talks the public listens. The media listens. The politicians listen," Cohen said.