40 Tons to share MJBizCon space with other justice-impacted marijuana brands

Last year, Los Angeles-based cannabis brand 40 Tons mailed thousands of postcards – and handed out thousands more – addressed to individuals currently in prison on marijuana-related charges.

The postcards were signed by MJBizCon 2023 attendees.

The message? You are not forgotten.

This year, 40 Tons is returning to MJBizCon on Dec. 4-6 and sharing its space on the trade show floor – called Equity Row – with 15 other marijuana companies founded by justice-impacted individuals.

“At 40 Tons, we believe in sharing the platform we’ve worked hard to build,” said Loriel Alegrete, CEO and co-founder of 40 Tons.

Opportunities for the justice-impacted

She co-founded 40 Tons with her husband, Anthony Alegrete, who served time in prison for a marijuana-related offense.

“If we can create opportunities for justice-impacted entrepreneurs, then we’re doing our job,” she said.

40 Tons reached out to leaders from cannabis business associations such as Marijuana Matters, Minorities for Medical Marijuana and Women Grow to connect with a diverse group of justice-impacted companies in the cannabis space, according to Anthony Alegrete.

“We wanted to select at least one company or brand from as many states as we possibly could,” he told MJBizDaily.

“We didn’t want to pick only California … and we didn’t want it to just be brands,” he said, adding that Equity Row participants at MJBizCon 2024 will include a marijuana delivery technology firm, a cannabis association, a mixologist, retailers and other plant-touching and ancillary companies serving the industry.

MJBizCon is providing free booth space and marketing for the Equity Row participants.

Small operators can ‘do big deals, too’

“The reason it’s difficult for us to compete with the big boys is because of access to capital and access to opportunity … access to a group of folks that you know will be attending MJBizCon with supply-chain partners,” Anthony Alegrete said.

Speaking about 40 Tons’ experience at MJBizCon 2023, he said: “It leveled us up. It helped us grow. It helped show the world that we’re not just some small little organization.

“It also showed that even though we are an equity company – and we’re a small, minority-owned company – we can do big deals, too.”

More information about MJBizCon and the opportunity to buy tickets are available here.