The first Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce breakfast event of the year focused on a taboo subject that is said to have numerous business opportunities.
At the Jan. 4 breakfast at The Breakers, nearly 400 residents and business owners gathered to learn about Florida’s cannabis industry.
Laurel Baker, the chamber’s chief executive officer, said she thought the presentation would provoke an important discussion not commonly heard.
“One of the directions that I have in finding programs is to bring to light topics that you normally wouldn’t think to go to a chamber breakfast to hear,” she said.
Baker said the idea of a cannabis business goes beyond the walls of a dispensary.
Residents won’t find a dispensary on the island, anyway. Town officials outlawed medical marijuana treatment centers and dispensaries, as well as the cultivation of marijuana for medical use at the beginning of 2017.
There are still infinite business opportunities waiting for Palm Beach residents on and off the island, ranging from investments and logistics to special event planning and culinary arts, said Cannabiziac founder Ann Marie Sorrell, one of the presenters at the breakfast event.
Cannabiziac is a member-based company created to help existing businesses and professionals tap into the growing $43 billion global cannabis industry through education, training and access to industry experts.
Florida’s medical cannabis market, Sorrell explained, makes up $1 billion in the global market. Sales from U.S. legal cannabis reached $20 billion in 2020, and are expected to skyrocket to $50 billion by 2026.
Cannabis ties to Palm Beach
Actively operating in the cannabis industry does not always require a business owner to make contact with a plant.
“If you provide any type of ancillary services or professional services, you don’t have to touch the plant to provide services for the industry,” Sorrell said.
Hands-off industry opportunities, Sorrell said, include technology and equipment development, marketing, law, commercial real estate and tourism.
Businesses on the island have already integrated cannabis into their services through the use of CBD extract, or cannabidiol.
CBD products with less than 0.3 percent THC are currently not regulated by the town, and they are legal for use and sale within state law, said Palm Beach Police spokesman Capt. Will Rothrock. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, CBD is a chemical compound derived from the cannabis plant. It is used as a pharmaceutical agent to treat chronic pain without the psychoactive effects of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
Arthritis pain
After having used CBD oil on himself to relieve arthritis pain, Brian Cantor said he started looking into offering treatments at his salon.
Located in The Royal Poinciana Plaza, Paul Labrecque Salon and Spa offers its clients a plant-based CBD ritual massage. Clients experience stress and pain relief through the application of 1,000 milligrams of pure CBD oil blended with coconut oil and arnica extract.
“It’s the most relaxing massage ever,” he said.
“CBD oil helps the body really take a deep breath and relax.”
Olivia Stephens Salon and Spa, at 283 Royal Poinciana Way, offers clients a massage with lotion, oil, or serum that can be mixed with a CBD isolate powder.
Cannabis’ medicinal purposes
The presentation also highlighted the medicinal benefits of cannabis. In order for Palm Beach business owners to successfully be a part of the industry, Sorrell said, they must change their perspective.
“Once people really understand cannabis as medicine, I think it changes their perspective of the usage,” she said.
“For residents who are in business or who are investors, them now having a better understanding, appreciation for the plant as medicine can now… look at business opportunities.”
According to Cannabiziac, cannabis helps treat medical conditions such as epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, post-traumatic stress disorder and cancer.
The future of cannabis
Florida legalized medical marijuana in 2016, and since then has become the third-largest cannabis market in the country by annual sales, according to Sorrell.
But in order for a greener future, business owners in the cannabis industry must act as advocates and help create ”fair” opportunities for individuals Sorrell said.
Owners must also listen to the younger voices moving into town.
“Palm Beach has a lot of new generations that are coming in and younger residents that are also coming in. They aren’t just visiting anymore,” she said.
“I think that when they look at different opportunities,
“[The industry] is going to continue to grow,” Sorrell said. “
I just advise people to get involved.”
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