Southern New Mexico Canna Convention aims to educate people about medical cannabis

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico -- Dispensary owners, industry experts, and medical professionals gathered at the ballroom of Hotel Encanto Saturday for the Southern New Mexico Canna Convention.

This convention is being called one of the largest of its type in the state of New Mexico by its organizers. The main goal of the festival is to educate the public about medical cannabis, as well as the cannabis industry as a whole.

"A lot of people get a bad perception of cannabis, but in a convention like this, you actually get to see what it's all about" said Albert Reyes, owner of Hashtag Cannabis in Las Cruces. He was one of the many local dispensary owners attending the convention Saturday.

ABC-7 also spoke with one of the convention's organizers, Christian Maes, and he said that the Las Cruces area has always embraced the culture of cannabis.

"6 years ago when we did our first show, it was groundbreaking out here" said Maes.

"We decided now that [since] recreational use and adult use has been introduced to the state, it's time for us to come back out and do some educational things" he added.

The second day of the Southern New Mexico Canna Convention takes place on Sunday, August 14th from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Hotel Encanto in Las Cruces. Tickets are available to anyone over the age of 18, starting at $10. No products that contain THC, the psychoactive chemical in marijuana, are being served at this convention.