The day after October 7, 2023, the world felt different to me and to many Jewish people I know. There was grief, confusion, and an uncomfortable sense that something had fundamentally shifted. That feeling followed me everywhere, including the cannabis spaces where I’ve spent the last decade of my professional life.
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A few days later, I attended a cannabis event in New Jersey. The panels and programming were familiar, but something about the atmosphere felt different. At one point, five of us, all Jewish and all working in cannabis, found ourselves standing together. Nobody planned it. Nobody announced it. We just drifted into the same corner, drawn by an unspoken need to be near people who understood what the moment felt like.
It turned out that scene wasn’t unique. I heard about similar conversations happening in Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Miami. Jewish professionals gravitating toward one another across the country, instinctively seeking connection during a time that felt disorienting and raw. Those parallel moments made it clear that what we were feeling in New Jersey wasn’t isolated. It was a pattern. And it deserved a response.
Soon after, I connected with the founder of JewWhoTokes, and we decided to create something intentional. Not a club, not a committee – just a space where Jewish people in cannabis could show up fully and openly, without needing to downplay who they were or what they were feeling. That decision led to our first formal in-person gathering during MJBizCon 2023.
We expected maybe 50 people. More than 200 showed up.
It was overwhelming in the best possible way. What was meant to be a simple opportunity to meet in person became a loud, joyful, cathartic moment of recognition: we weren’t alone. And we weren’t small.
That gathering became the first-ever Bagel Bash.
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Since then, the Bagel Bash has traveled across the country. We’ve hosted them in Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, and New York, and each city has brought its own character and energy. We’ve also organized Jewish holiday celebrations, Hanukkah, Purim, and Passover, each one blending cannabis culture with Jewish culture in a way that felt natural, not forced. Every event reinforced the same truth: people were hungry for this kind of connection.
What began as a response to fear evolved into a celebration of identity.
Now, as we approach MJBizCon 2025, Jews in Weed is entering a new chapter. For the first time, our community has been recognized as an official partner of the conference. And with that partnership comes a new event we’re calling the Biz Mitzvah (Wednesday, December 2nd at 2 PM at the Central Hub in the LVCC).
Biz Mitzvah isn’t a ceremony. It isn’t a branding exercise. It’s an expression of Jewish joy – the kind that’s grounded, proud, and unapologetic. It’s a moment to acknowledge the role Jewish professionals have played in this industry for decades, often quietly, often individually, but rarely together.
Cannabis has always flourished in spaces where people bring their authentic selves. The Biz Mitzvah is our way of contributing to that legacy. It recognizes that Jewish identity doesn’t vanish when times are hard – it deepens. It connects. It builds.
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Of course, the Bagel Bash remains part of MJBiz week. Our third annual Jews in Weed Bagel Bash Las Vegas will still be filled with bagels, familiar faces, and that unmistakable energy that made the first gathering so memorable. But the Biz Mitzvah marks a step forward – not instead of the Bagel Bash, but because of it.
It’s a sign that what emerged spontaneously in the corners of cannabis events in New Jersey, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, and Philadelphia has become something larger than any of us anticipated. A community born out of vulnerability has evolved into one rooted in pride and joy.
And to think, it started with a few people instinctively finding one another when the world felt unsteady.
The cannabis industry is built on connection. Jews in Weed found that connection, nurtured it, and turned it into community. What comes next is still unfolding, but one thing is clear: we’re here, we’re visible, and we’re bringing all of ourselves with us.
*This article was submitted by a guest contributor. The author is solely responsible for the content.