While New York state is no mecca for the burgeoning marijuana industry, hundreds of people attended the Cannabis World Congress and Business Expo at the Javits Center when it opened on Thursday. A few of them were wearing tie-dyed T-shirts. But much more common were suits looking for a good investment, lawyers in pencil skirts scouting for clients, and retirees from well-heeled suburbs looking for a new adventure.
There was also Linda Ingber, a 58-year old single mother from Cedarhurst, Long Island. She's a physical therapist, raising twin 11-year-olds, a boy and a girl. But business hasn't been going well. So she started a cab company. It tanked. Then she looked into tech start-ups, but found the learning curve was just too steep. Finally, she ended up at the marijuana expo.
"I decided to look at the next rush of what's out there," she told WNYC in an interview. "Cannabis caught my eye, even though I don't smoke and I don't believe in any drugs."
Her first stop was a booth with blindingly bright lights used for indoor growing. Two lights were on sale for $2,000 dollars. "Wow, not a cheap industry," she said, laughing and shaking her head.
Wandering over to a booth hawking edibles, she glanced at the bags of tea and coffee before landing on an unfamiliar product: flakes that dissolve in water. Ingbur seemed unconvinced that the edible products could really relieve pain.
"Flakes are a beautiful thing," the man running the booth said.
"I'm gonna put you on the spot," she fired back. "Did you do a clinical study?" She added, "Is this evidence-based?"
He replied that 150 people were involved in a study that found it did relieve some symptoms.
"That's not a lot," Ingberg quipped.
She took a brochure, but passed on the free samples.
Ingber then continued to network, introducing herself to growers and investors, soaking in all the new info and tried to figure out how she could fit in.
"I'm going to find my niche. There's a million niches out there," she said. "I'm a niche-seeker."
While recreational marijuana is still illegal in New York, a bill allowing practitioners to prescribe medical marijuana passed last year. But only five growing licenses will be issued, so it is unclear how a small business owner like Ingber will be able to get in on the action.
