The public is invited to attend the Southeast Cannabis Conference & Expo, held at the Greater Ft. Lauderdale / Broward County Convention Center from June 9-11.

The first annual Conference on Medical Marijuana will bring together leaders in the field of medical marijuana policy, industry and application for a comprehensive overview of this rapidly expanding area of economics, research and development. Just announced, Montel Williams will discuss his personal journey with cannabis during his keynote address.

This conference is a gathering of entrepreneurs, patients, job seekers, advocates, scientists, doctors, others working in field and just curious citizens who just want to know more as Florida races toward a more advanced marijuana policy.

Admission begins at $50 per day. For information or tickets, visit seccexpo.com.

"This year's conference is particularly important as Florida is on the cutting edge of medical marijuana policy reform," said conference Co-Chair Demitri Downing, an ex-prosecutor who helped design the emerging market expo.

"Advances in basic policy are creating economic and health care opportunities as rapidly as the States can understand and implement them. The practical applications are subject to the citizen's imagination! This is a rare time in human history and this conference provides a setting to be inspired! In addition to the growth in basic medical rights, we are also seeing increased interest from the business and venture capital sectors seeking to turn the results of the policy changes into real-world uses, its quite exciting," Downing said.

Over the next decade, marijuana policy is expected to undergo a profound change not just in Florida but nationwide. Huge questions are being formulated analyzed and answered by those on the ground. Advances in marijuana policy may or may not even proceed to adult use one day, the future is wide open because the public is getting educated by conferences like these about what marijuana really is. As of 2016 the United States now has 29 medical marijuana States and nine with adult use.

The conference will cover a broad set of topics relevant to the pursuit of better decisions involving medical marijuana use, business, and policy. Drawing on experts from numerous disciplines, doctors, politicians, celebrities, businessmen, investment advisors, advocates, out of state practitioners, this will be a weekend filled with information.

Downing encourages the public, policy makers and community influencers to attend. "The only equivalent I can compare it too is too imagine if someone allowed you as a high school senior to spend a week auditing any and all classes at the local University. What would you learn? This is more knowledge than you will know what to do with and the ability to discuss in an open setting helps vet the good from the bad information," Downing said.

This year's keynote speaker will be Montel Williams, the original celebrity advocate for medical marijuana, himself a 17 year patient winning the battle against MS. Other major names to be announced in coming weeks as more and more people watch the changes in Tallahassee.

This year's conference will also be the first held since the finalizing of Florida's new medical marijuana law and this will be the focus of the discussion with experts provided by the local leaders on the topic the Florida Cannabis Coalition.

Numerous athletes will also participate in a special session during the conference and speak on the topic of "Pro-Athletes and Cannabis."