FAQs

The CSP Cannabis Forum is an annual industry event, powered by Informa, that brings together convenience store retailers and suppliers to focus on opportunities in the cannabis segment. The forum features expert speakers on regulations, market trends, implementation strategies, and more to help retailers navigate this complex but potentially valuable category. Sessions address both the challenges and opportunities presented by cannabis, with a focus on legally compliant approaches that align with convenience operations.

The 2026 CSP Cannabis Forum will take place Monday, March 23rd, 2026, to Wednesday, March 25th, 2026, at The Westin Lombard in Chicago, IL.

The CSP Cannabis Forum is ideal for convenience retailers, category managers, foodservice directors, operations executives, and anyone responsible for cannabis or alternative strategy and sales. Suppliers, equipment manufacturers, and service providers in the industry will also benefit from attending to connect with retail decision-makers and showcase their solutions.

The top convenience retailers, category managers, foodservice directors, operations executives, and anyone responsible for cannabis or alternative strategy and sales alongside suppliers, equipment manufacturers, and service providers will attend the CSP Cannabis Forum. Click the button below for a comprehensive view of the past attendees.

Retailer:
An individual who works, manages or owns a retail outlet in the convenience and petroleum industry.

Registration fees are complimentary for those who have received an invitation, thanks to the support of our sponsors. Please contact Mike Marino at michael.marino@informa.com for more information.

Sponsor:
An individual who works for a company that is a sponsor of the conference. Please register using your company specific invitation code.

If you are not yet a sponsor and would like additional information, please contact Brandy Mulcahy at fssponsorrelations@informa.com.

View the full CSP Cannabis Forum Agenda at the button below

Market Growth Opportunity: The cannabis industry is evolving rapidly, with an expected $45 billion in total legal sales by 2027.
Regulatory Insights: Gain confidence and knowledge with expert-led discussions on federal and state-level cannabis regulations, ensuring your business remains compliant and competitive.
Retail Innovation and Cannabis Consumer Trends: Learn how to integrate cannabis products into your store offerings with data-driven strategies that maximize sales, improve merchandising, and enhance customer experiences and loyalty.
Network 1 on 1 with the Cannabis Industry: Connect with the top retail firms, innovators, and suppliers to gain proven best practices and build partnerships that drive growth in the cannabis and alternative category.

Regulatory changes affecting cannabis retail is a key content focus of the CSP Cannabis Forum. Gain confidence and knowledge with expert-led discussions on federal and state-level cannabis regulations, ensuring your business remains compliant and competitive.

With expert-led discussions from Technomic and top retailing firms in the industry, CSP Cannabis Forum attendees will learn how to integrate cannabis products into their store offerings with data-driven strategies that maximize sales, improve merchandising, and enhance customer experiences and loyalty.

Connect with the top retail firms, innovators, and suppliers at the CSP Cannabis Forum during curated one-to-one meetings or over fun networking activities to gain proven best practices and build partnerships that drive growth in the cannabis and alternative category.

Please be vigilant if approached by any company representing themselves as the housing provider for the C-Store Cannabis Forum. These companies will offer to make hotel reservations within the room block on your behalf or misrepresent themselves as agents of the hotel. Please note that C-Store Cannabis Forum does not rent, share or sell your contact information to any third parties.

The companies that we have been made aware of are Convention Housing Planners Corp, Expo Housing Services and Exhibitors Housing Management. Please let us know as soon as possible if another company reaches out to you.

C-Store Cannabis Forum is not utilizing the services of any housing agent or third party and the host hotel will never reach out to attendees to solicit booking rooms. Please only make your accommodations using the link in your registration confirmation email.

The group rate is $159 + tax (based on availability). The group rate expires on Monday, February 23, 2026

Check-in time is 3:00pm and check-out time is 12:00pm.

Complimentary wireless internet will be provided at CSP Cannabis Forum throughout the meeting space. Login details will be provided during the meeting.

The CSP Cannabis Forum meeting attire is business casual.

Legal Notice: CSP Magazine brings us together to share insights and opportunities in the convenience store industry. We recognize that sme participants may compete in the marketplace with other participants. CSP has no interest in discussing, nor will engage in any discussion regarding pricing, coordination of marketing activities among competitors, refusals to deal, or any other agreement, tact or otherwise, that may violate any federal or state antitrust or other law or rule regulating competition. Furthermore, CSP does not condone the use or sale of any product commonly known to be illegal within any jurisdiction.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed during this meeting and by our speakers are not necessarily the opinions of CSP.

Note: This meeting is on the record, but you can ask to speak "off the record."

Informa is a leading international business-to-business information services group that connects people with knowledge to help them learn more, know more, and do more. Through its Informa Connect division, the company delivers content-led live and on-demand events, training, and specialist content to businesses and professionals across various industries.

As part of the Informa family, CSP benefits from global reach, industry expertise, and the infrastructure necessary to host gatherings that assemble key decision-makers and financial partners in environments specifically designed for meaningful business connections and actionable insights across the convenience retail landscape.

Informa Connect is dedicated to creating experiences that deliver positive impact while minimizing environmental footprint. Through the FasterForward sustainability program, events like ours will move faster to become zero-waste and net-zero carbon by 2030.

In the future, we will actively help partners, customers, and wider markets achieve their own sustainability goals. By attending CSP Cannabis Forum, participants will not just gain valuable industry knowledge and connections, but they will also support a more sustainable future for their industries.