Root & Rise Symposium

Root & Rise Symposium 2027: Where Southeast Cannabis Policy Meets Business

What Is Root & Rise Symposium?

The Root & Rise Symposium runs July 26-28, 2027 at Roanoke College in Salem, VA. It's a three-day cannabis symposium focused on policy, research and business, produced by GoPlay Agency with Roanoke College as a strategic partner. Roanoke is home to Virginia's first cannabis studies program, so the academic side here is real.

Programming runs in two tracks, Industry & Policy and Research & Education. Topics include licensing, regulatory frameworks, market development, retail, cultivation and the hemp transition, plus medical research and what a possible Schedule III move could mean. Speakers have included people from the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority and Wake Forest.

Why Cannabis Operators Should Care

This isn't a trade show. It's the room where the rules for Virginia, North Carolina and the rest of the Southeast are getting talked through. If you're a cultivator, processor, retailer or hemp business thinking about licensing in the region, hearing directly from regulators and researchers is worth a lot more than reading about it later.

It's also a smaller, more focused crowd. That means you can actually talk to the policymakers and operators shaping these markets instead of waving at them across an expo hall.

How to Get the Most Out of It

Pick the track that matches your next decision

If you're weighing a license application or a hemp-to-cannabis move, live in the Industry & Policy track. If you're on the product or medical side, the Research & Education sessions will give you more to work with.

Bring your licensing questions

Regulators don't usually sit in a room ready to answer questions. Write down the two or three things you need clarity on and look for the right speaker during breaks.

Stay for all three days

Smaller events reward people who stick around. The best conversations tend to happen on day two and three, after everyone's had a chance to meet.

Follow up within the week

Send a short note to the regulators, researchers and operators you met while the conversation's fresh. In a market this new, those relationships pay off for years.