I started my last post on the marijuana business with a confession that I don’t know very much about cannabis (I’m getting there). But it turns out not knowing about marijuana isn’t necessarily a disadvantage covering this story.

Let me explain.

The International Cannabis Association’s (ICA) New York conference was meant to focus on the business of cannabis – the regulatory restrictions, networking, trends, and so on. There was nary a bong in site. It turns out, the conference was aimed at people like me – who might not know about the industry but who recognize its potential as a business.

As ICA’s president Dan Humiston explained, “About a year ago… I was interested in getting into the cannabis industry but I don’t smoke marijuana,” he said. Humiston was looking at the field as a businessman. “I tried to find some research and go online… I went to a couple conferences and seminars and they weren’t really geared for me. They were geared for people already in the industry.”

That’s because the marijuana industry – for better or worse – is largely closed off. Multiple people at the conference and along the way have taken time to explain to me what a tight-knit, hard-to-crack industry medical marijuana is. It’s not surprising, given that the product is still illegal under federal law, that many Americans see it only as a "fringe," if not criminal, enterprise despite the growth of the medical marijuana industry.

“There’s an opportunity here for business people to be introduced… to people that are in the Cannabis industry,” added Humiston. “There are so many people who are curious about that industry but don’t know where to get that information.”

That’s why ICA started hosting conferences. The New York event was the group’s second; the first was in Las Vegas. ICA, recognizing that they’re newer to the industry, partnered with many outside experts and guest speakers. Attendees ranged from a state senator and legislative aides to a company out of California specializing in edible marijuana products.

Prior to the conference’s kickoff, ICA hosted a group called the Cannabis Integrity Authority – the other CIA. CIA was testing out a pilot program for a cannabis industry certification. Because the marijuana industry is so closed-off, it can be difficult for people interested in the pot business to learn basic information – like different strains of cannabis or correct starting doses for patients wanting to use medical marijuana. Their certification is meant to teach “pot 101” or all the questions you were afraid to ask for fear of sounding ignorant. (Think indica vs. sativa or whether it’s a good idea to keep records – click here for a sample quiz from their course.) After all – if you want to convince someone to give you a distribution license, it’s going to help to know that any strain with “haze” in its name is a sativa.

The certification is one response to a feeling in the industry – and among lawmakers – that the marijuana industry is still a wild, wild west. Marijuana is as varied – if not more so – than something like alcohol, but unlike alcohol there is no “proof” or way to mark just what the drug is expected to do to your body. As Humiston explained, a “pound” of marijuana can mean different things in different parts of the country. There is a need to standardize.

“There’s gotta be some kind of criteria for someone who wants to join the cannabis industry,” said Robert Calkin, head of the Cannabis Career Institute, one of several pot schools in the country. “Right now, the government is asking that there be some kind of criteria, so we, instead of having the government create the criteria are taking it upon ourselves to self-police.”

It’s all part of an industry push to move away from Cheech and Chong and towards legitimacy. CIA co-founder Meki Cox puts it like this: “Take the word ‘cannabis’ out of ‘cannabis business’ and remind [people] they should be running any operation within the industry like a valuable, compliant, ethical business should be run."

Which gets to another point – everyone I’ve talked to is quick to say that this industry is growing bigger than just growers and distributors – and quickly.

“There’s so many business owners that said, ‘Oh my gosh, I do that already, I’m just gonna do it and market myself to the marijuana community,’” said Humiston. Take real estate. “Everybody knows a realtor but how many realtors do you know that would be an expert at finding property that would be eligible for a [marijuana] license in New York State? So a realtor could be the marijuana licensing expert; they’ve niched themselves.”

It’s not lost on anyone in the industry, though, that there are still 27 states where medical marijuana is illegal. But for people like Calkin, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a way into what they believe is a rapidly-growing business.

“Step one is getting out there and going to as many meetings, classes and functions as possible, and meeting as many people as possible.” Even in states where the drug isn’t legal – Calkin says it’s possible to get involved. “There are plenty of support groups… you’d probably be surprised, literally every state has a NORML [National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws] or an ASA [Americans for Safe Access] or some kind of activist group that you can get involved in right now.”