AI Isn’t Magic, But It Might Save Your Cannabis Business: Experts Explain Why
At last week’s Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference in Chicago, one of the most forward-looking conversations centered around a deceptively simple question: Is AI part of your strategy?
Moderated by Julie Valdes of Thompson Hine, the panel featured David Belsky (FlowerHire), Rocco Del Priore (Sweed), Kyle Castanon (Elevated Equipment Supply), David Fettner (Grow America) and David Peck (Headquarters). Across cultivation, HR, retail, finance and compliance, the group explored how AI is already reshaping operations across the cannabis supply chain—and where it might go next.
AI Is Already Here (And So Is The Confusion)
While some operators still view artificial intelligence as a vague or futuristic concept, panelists were clear: AI is already making an impact.
“AI is not going to take your job,” said Castanon. “But the guy who knows AI is going to take your job.”
For cannabis companies, that means getting comfortable with the tools now. Castanon emphasized how his company’s cultivation clients are using AI to make crucial decisions in real time. For instance:
“We’re really looking at about a quarter million lines of data for every harvest… there’s like a 2-day window of when you should be pruning your plants… if you don’t hit that, you’ll lose about 20% of your yields.”
Fettner backed this up from a facility design perspective:
“AI will probably pick [up disease] …