MJBizDaily is the cannabis trade newsroom that started in 2011 as Marijuana Business Daily. It pairs daily B2B reporting with the MJBiz Factbook data service and MJBizCon, the annual trade show in Las Vegas.
Since July 14, 2026, its parent company Emerald has belonged to Apollo-managed funds. On August 19, 2026, Emerald and Questex began operating together as Forge, with MJBizDaily keeping its own name.
From Marijuana Business Daily to MJBiz
The outlet launched in 2011 under Marijuana Business Media, a division of Anne Holland Ventures, and ran early on as MMJ Business Daily. Co-founders Cassandra Farrington and Anne Holland built it in Denver alongside CEO Chris Walsh.
The company grew into a family of properties: MJBizDaily, MJBizCon, MJBizMagazine and Hemp Industry Daily. In 2020 it acquired The Emerald Conference.
The Emerald deal and the Apollo era
On January 4, 2022, Emerald bought MJBiz for $120 million in cash plus earnouts of $30 million to $50 million. The deal covered the newsroom, the trade show, the magazine, Hemp Industry Daily and The Emerald Conference, with Farrington and Holland staying on as consultants.
Apollo-managed funds completed their purchase of Emerald Holding and Questex on July 14, 2026. Emerald stockholders received $5.03 a share in cash, and the stock left the New York Stock Exchange. Forge, the combined company, is led by CEO Paul Miller, and its event and media brands keep their existing names. MJBizDaily's site carries a 2026 copyright line for Emerald X, LLC.
A newsroom built on state detail
MJBizDaily says its reporting comes from professional journalists, under published editorial standards. The site sorts coverage into U.S., international, retail, manufacturing, cultivation, hemp and CBD, finance and legal.
A single week shows the range. Between September 15 and 21, 2026, it reported $250 million in first-year adult-use sales in Minnesota, a license lottery plan in Virginia and Alabama dropping its opposition to federal rescheduling.
The masthead runs from Karalynn Sprouse, executive vice president, and Melody Brown, group vice president of editorial, to executive editor Chris Roberts, group director Darcel Duncan and staff writer Margaret Jackson.
Companies on the beat
Operator stories anchor the business desk. On June 18, 2026, MJBizDaily reported that Glass House Farms operator Glass House Brands had split cultivation from adult-use retail and applied to list on the NYSE.
It followed the Weedmaps ownership story as well. Co-founders Doug Francis and Justin Hartfield proposed taking WM Technology private in December 2024, then withdrew the offer in June 2025.
The MJBiz Factbook
The Factbook is the paid data arm. Members get quarterly editions and monthly insights across four sectors: cultivation, manufacturing, retail and investment. It tracks wholesale trends, licensing fees by state, consumer sales and sales forecasts.
Three membership tiers run from $249 to $479 a year, and the top tiers add newsletters and MJBizCon discounts. The first Factbook came out in March 2013. MJBizDaily also runs the MJBiz Directory and a Cannabis 101 course.
MJBizCon, December 1–4, 2026
MJBizCon dates to November 2012 and has made Las Vegas its home. The 2026 edition runs December 1–4 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, with Resorts World as the official hotel. The organizer lists 800+ exhibitors, 200+ speakers and more than 60 conference sessions.
December 1 is a pre-show day: certifications, The Exchange curated meetings, Associations Day and the Investment & Liquidity Summit. The show also runs the MJBizCon Innovation Awards and hosted buyer and retail buyer programs.
For a buyer's view of the floor, this MJBizCon 2026 guide breaks down what the show is for.
Official channels
MJBizDaily publishes at mjbizdaily.com, and MJBizCon runs at mjbizconference.com. It posts on Instagram and company news on LinkedIn.