LAS VEGAS – April 25, 2023 – Cannabis Conference, the industry’s leading educational and expo event for plant-touching cannabis businesses, produced by industry-leading Cannabis Business Times and taking place Aug. 15-17 at Paris Las Vegas, is pleased to announce its Keynote event: “What I’ve Learned in Cannabis: A Candid Conversation with Chris Ball.”
Chris Ball is the CEO of Ball Family Farms, one of the first Social Equity licensed vertically integrated cannabis facility in Los Angeles. The Southern California native began selling cannabis as a teen to put himself through junior college, where he played football. A former Division I football player at the University of California-Berkeley, he discovered the cultivation side of cannabis while playing football professionally for the British Columbia Lions in Canada and began his self-taught botany education. He then acquired a 5,000-sq.-ft. cultivation warehouse in Van Nuys, Los Angeles–with only 14 lights in a tiny room–and began growing for shops under California’s Proposition 215, or the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, which permitted medical cannabis in the state. He continued to grow medicine for co-op patients until California regulators legalized adult-use cannabis in 2016 after voters approved Prop. 64 by ballot measure.
When Los Angeles adopted commercial cannabis regulations and announced its Social Equity Program (SEP), Ball saw it as the perfect opportunity to transition and grow his business.
As Cannabis Business Times reported, Ball applied as a Tier-1 applicant, a level for which he qualified as he personally had been incarcerated or impacted by the war on drugs, and his application was eventually one of the 100 selected to receive a cultivation license among the more than 10,000 applications.
Ball Family Farms (BFF) incorporated in 2018 and launched its first commercial strain, Daniel Larusso. In 2021, the company doubled its facility size to 40,000 square feet and began expanding its slate of flower strains from three to ten.
While Ball's initial goal was to create unmatched premium cannabis products, Ball Family Farms also aims to promote equal pay, diversity and inclusion, and women's empowerment in the workplace. As a tribute to the company's activism and commitment to excellence, the company embraces its motto and tagline, "Cultivating the Culture…from the Ground UP!"
“In effort to give back and provide resources to their community, Ball Family Farms partnered with Viola, a cannabis brand owned by former NBA player Al Harrington, to create their Reign cultivar,” Cannabis Business Times reported in October 2021. “One dollar from each sale of Reign goes to Root & Rebound, a non-profit helping formerly incarcerated individuals, including those who served time for cannabis convictions, find jobs and housing once they reenter society. … Ball Family Farms also created its Hugs & Nugs program, which provides free cannabis to qualifying veterans and people in need.” And most recently, the company is co-sponsoring an Expungement Clinic hosted by Catalyst on April 29 in Pamona, Calif., May 27 in Santa Ana and June 24 in downtown Long Beach.
Ball Family Farms has come a long way since Chris’ first 14-light grow in Van Nuys, now growing under 300 flower lights and 40,000 square feet of canopy.
In his candid Keynote Address, Ball will share:
- how cannabis entered his life and embedded itself in his future,
- details about his incarceration for selling cannabis at a young age and its impact on his life,
- his transition and journey into to the legal market as the first Social Equity licensee in Los Angeles,
- the steep learning curve he faced as a CEO of a startup cultivation operation in the world’s largest cannabis market (California … As some say, if you can survive in LA, you can survive anywhere!),
- how he built a team while balancing family dynamics and professional relationships as the business grew rapidly,
- his evolution as CEO as he worked to manage revenue and profit, costs and spending decisions,
- his experiences and innovations in cannabis genetics, cultivation and the value of a brand,
- lessons he has learned from the market downturn and how to adapt, and
- his predictions for and insights into the cannabis industry’s future.
This heartfelt, inspiring story about the realities of the cannabis industry—from prohibition to profit … and how the most passionate and persevering can succeed—will take place Aug. 16 at Cannabis Conference.
More information about Cannabis Conference, including sessions, speakers, exhibitors and FAQs, can be found at https://www.cannabisconference.com. Rates will increase April 26, 2023, at midnight. Click here to review pricing and to register.
About Cannabis Conference
Cannabis Conference, produced by the award-winning Cannabis Business Times media brand, is the leading educational provider for plant-touching businesses in the legal cannabis markets. The event will take place at Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nev., on Aug. 15-17, 2023. The Cannabis Conference will present 30+ education sessions featuring expert speakers, as well as an 85,000-square-foot expo hall with industry-leading technologies, solutions and services for professional cannabis cultivators, retailers and processors. It is owned by GIE Media, Inc. in Valley View, Ohio. For more information, visit https://www.cannabisconference.com.
