Two very different events took place at opposite ends of downtown Denver last weekend. Colorado Christian University and its Centennial Institute’s Western Conservative Summit convened at the Colorado Convention Center, while the Arcview Investor Network’s Pitch Forum for a burgeoning marijuana industry gathered at the EXDO Center in River North. A casual observer might have had trouble telling which meeting was which. The marijuana investors and emerging pot moguls tended to wear jackets and ties, while conservative summiteers looked more like a crowd waiting to scramble aboard a cruise ship, many sporting deck shoes and Hawaiian shirts. The average age at EXDO was probably half that of the predominantly older audience at the convention center. Attitudes differed as well, with summit attendees seemingly reeling from the pessimistic view of an America that needed to be “taken back,” while those at the Arcview event buzzed with optimism, marveling at the entrepreneurial opportunities in an industry they imagine will expand coast-to-coast in the next decade. One group was all fire and brimstone, the other sunshine and lollipops.

The conservative weekend kicked off Friday morning at the Brown Palace Hotel with a panel presentation by Real Clear Politics, the website aggregator of polling results for political races across the country, which piggybacked on the conservative audience assembling in Denver. With the Supreme Court’s ruling on gay marriage that morning directing the attention of many to their cellphones for updates, the panelists pointed out that the issue cuts more along generational than political lines. Some 70 per cent of evangelical conservatives under 25 support gay marriage, compared with 53 per cent of liberal Democrats over 60. Although Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker would call for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage later in the day, by Saturday evening, when he addressed summit delegates, the topic wasn’t even mentioned. Others, including former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, had pretty much staked out the militantly aggrieved positions. The other finding reported by RCP that bucked conventional thinking is the emphasis on foreign affairs among Republican Presidential candidates. While voters might not entirely like or trust Democrat Hillary Clinton, they do see her as tough and strong. She could come off well in comparison, as voters tend to look for traits they think are missing in outgoing incumbents.

Carly Fiorina spoke at RCP’s energy event sponsored by the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity. She was impressive, as she would continue to be throughout the weekend, with speeches that propelled her to a surprise second-place finish in the summit’s straw poll. When one Republican remarked to another, “There should be a place on the ticket for her – she would make a terrific pick for vice president,” a Fiorina supporter shot back, “That’s sexist (B.S.), she’s running for president!” A law school dropout who started at Hewlett-Packard as a secretary, eventually rising to CEO, Fiorina dismissed firing as merely the result of a “boardroom brawl.” Leadership, she said, requires tough calls that can displease those wedded to the status quo. Railing against the Supreme Court decision upholding a portion of the Affordable Care Act, she dismissed the bill as “longer than a Harry Potter novel and not nearly as interesting.” Obamacare, she said, encouraged consolidation within the healthcare industry for hospitals, insurors and drug companies, all to the disadvantage of patients. Fiorina can be tough on Hillary Clinton in ways the other candidate dare not risk. She challenged Clinton to explain what she could possibly say to any group that justified a $500,000 speaking fee, and compared that to Hillary’s complaints about CEO compensation. “Ideologists are willing to sacrifice others’ livelihoods on the altar of their ideology,” she proclaimed.

Meanwhile, back at EXDO, marijuana entrepreneurs seeking investors engaged in speed dating sessions, introducing their businesses to tables of potential backers, and conducted “shark-tank” style sessions to pitch their proposals. Several of the presenting companies specialized in marijuana genomics, working to breed the genetic make-up of proprietary strains of weed. Lurking in the background, however, was a fear that once the industry explodes, Monsanto’s GMO engineers could step in and take over. There were companies that have developed test kits for microbial pathogens, hemp specialists and customized accounting, human resource management and public relations support. Exhibitors included edibles manufacturers, automated hydroponic closets for growing your own plants at home, as well as vaporizers and lab gurus ready to guarantee consistent dosages of THC in packaged products. At least half the firms are based in California, where the medical market is larger than both Colorado’s medical and recreational markets combined. But Colorado had its fair share of entrepreneurs. Investments pitched were often in the range of $250-300,000, more in the angel-investor range than true venture-fund investments. The Marijuana Investment Co. is as close as the industry has to a mutual fund. Scheduled to go public soon, its shares will be available to buyers backed by a spectrum of companies MJIC has backed and supervised – capitalism at its creative finest.

Cowboy troubadour Michael Martin Murphy, known for his enduring No. 1 hit Wildfire from the 1970s, entertained the large summit crowd between speakers. Ted Cruz, it’s worth noting, has single-handedly changed the speaking format for 2016 GOP presidential candidates. At the summit, at least, they paced the stage, microphone in hand, as though delivering a TED talk. The informal, talk-show host style is here to stay. Although he didn’t do as well as was expected in the summit straw poll, placing third, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has it down – he can stick strictly to his script and make it feel spontaneous, a talent.

Across the street from the convention center on Saturday night, Arcview attendees assembled for the event’s wrap party in the Denver Center’s Seawell ballroom. While Quigley’s Cannabis Shots weren’t available at the bar (they could be soon), several in the room appeared to have been recently medicated. The 4,000 conservatives nearby, most of whom would gladly jerk the rug out from under the marijuana industry, didn’t seem to worry the Arcview partyers. That could prove shortsighted. The political future of a stoner nation is far from a settled question.

– mnhwriter@msn.com