AUSTIN — It was California-based Arcview Group’s 24th cannabis industry investor pitch forum, and the business plans promised dazzling returns investing in everything from seed and soil to smoke, vapor, edibles and oils.

Mason Levy of WeGrow, a Boulder, Colorado-based startup aimed at the home and community-garden cannabis grower, was trying to sell investors on Elle, a “conversational grow bot.”

Michael Bologna of Denver-based Green Lion Partners was hawking a “dipper” with atomizer attachments for inhaling cannabis vapor. “Dipstick Vapes is dedicated to raising the standard of excellence for the consumer experience in the cannabis industry,” Bologna said. “We saw an opportunity in the dipper for a device that we could dab with, but also could leave it on our counters or our coffee table.”

Matt Wilson, of the Seattle-based founder of Altopa, unveiled the Oblend, “the first consumer device that allows you to precisely blend botanical oils at home.”

“I wish could tell you I built the Oblend machine in a garage, but the truth is I had a team of scientists, engineers and executives from the consumer products, health care and medical device industries,” he told the group.

Among the mix of suited and sandal-wearing executives at the AT&T Convention Center, on the south end of the University of Texas’ flagship campus, it was hard to distinguish the investors from the investees. The lights were dimmed and a sound crew played thumping, upbeat music as the parade of industry analysts and entrepreneurs — some with Ivy League and Silicon Valley pedigrees — took to the stage in early May. With slogans and power point slides, they outlined how startups in cultivating, dispensing, marketing and distributing cannabis could get Texans in on what is being touted as the fastest growing industry in America. Cowen & Co., a New York-based investment firm, estimates the legal cannabis industry will grow to $50 billion within the next 10 years.

More than one offering was built on digital market access and described as the “Amazon of Cannabis.”

There was liberal use of industry lingo. “Bud tenders,” like a sommelier for pot, “flower” to distinguish the leafy, smokable stuff from oil, extracts and increasingly popular edible goods. “Pot porn” described the giant images of marijuana leaves that served as a backdrop to some presentations, and “not touching the plant” to describe ways to invest without putting money into actually growing or marketing a federally illegal plant.

Troy Dayton, Arcview’s CEO, had opened the two-day forum with a look out at the ballroom full of current and would-be investors and an introduction that marked a sense of history and place.

“We’re in Texas,” he said. “Wow.”

Conservative-leaning Texas might seem an odd place to rent convention space and rally sponsors from some of the nation’s leading cannabis companies. Its compassionate use program is so narrow, industry experts don’t even count the state among the 29 states that have legalized medical marijuana. But the Lone Star State is known for having deep- pocketed and adventurous investors, Dayton said, and Texas is second only to California in the number of Arcview investors.

If there was a high in the air, it was because the “green rush” seemed inevitable.

West Virginia had just passed a medical marijuana law. A few blocks away at the Texas state Capitol, lawmakers were taking up measures to expand the medical use law from being solely for patients with intractable epilepsy and to lessen criminal penalties for possession of small amounts.

The measures failed, but proponents expected that it would take a red state like Texas a few more legislative sessions to reach their goal of both medical and adult recreational use legalization. The Texas Department of Public Safety had the day before awarded its first three licenses for dispensing low-THC (the chemical that produces the “high”) cannabis oil to epilepsy patients.

Since 43 companies applied, there was a lot of disappointment in the room. Patrick Moran, who’s banking on opening a dispensary in an old cotton gin north of Dallas, was one who didn’t get a license. But looking at the big picture kept him from crying about it.

“Hold on, we’re disappointed about us not getting it, but this is historic,” he said during a break for the catered lunch. “I mean, three licenses came out … I think that’s the point. It’s unfolding. They can’t stop it, so they’re just controlling it as much as they can. There’s no going back.”

The “green rush” is seen as a national and international phenomenon. According to John Kagia of the industry analytics firm New Frontier Data, support for legalization now stands at 57 percent, up 10 percentage points from 47 percent four years ago. More than 60 percent of Americans now live in a state with legalized marijuana.

“Think about that. We’ve gone from minority to majority support for legal cannabis in the United States in just four years,” Kagia said.

“Think about that. We’ve gone from minority to majority support for legal cannabis in the United States in just four years.”John Kagia of the industry analytics firm 
New Frontier Data