The cannabis conference circuit is experiencing an exciting transformation. With 68% of Americans now supporting full legalization, 2026’s events will mark a pivotal shift from underground advocacy to mainstream power moves.
The numbers tell the story: the legal cannabis retail market is expected to reach $57 billion by 2028, up from $38 billion in 2024. What makes next year different isn’t just scale—it’s sophistication. Events now attract over 20,000 professionals at flagship gatherings where automation, AI, and blockchain technology merge with cultural movements and social equity initiatives.
The traditional divide between B2B conferences and consumer festivals is dissolving. Texas, Florida, and North Carolina are poised to legalize recreational cannabis, creating fresh markets eager for expertise. From expanding 4/20 and 7/10 celebrations to exclusive investment summits, 2026’s cannabis events represent the industry’s evolution from counterculture to culture-defining force.
Here’s everything you need to know about the country’s cannabis calendar for 2026!
Hawaii Cannabis Expo — Honolulu, HI
The 9th annual Hawaii Cannabis Expo returns to the Blaisdell Exhibition Hall from January 30 to February 1, 2026, serving as the Pacific’s premier cannabis business and education summit.
The expo’s primary focus combines patient advocacy with business development—addressing the challenge that, while Hawaii was the first state to legalize medical marijuana, high costs and limited access continue to impact the state’s nearly 32 thousand registered medical patients.
The event draws a diverse professional audience, including mainland investors, local cultivators, medical practitioners, and policymakers. This is particularly significant as House Bill 2600 and Senate Bill 3335 could allow adults 21 and over to possess an ounce of marijuana effective January 1, 2026. With approximately 150 vendor and education booths, the expo offers everything from cultivation technology to regulatory guidance.
Lucky Leaf — Minneapolis, MN
Another February event, Lucky Leaf Expo Minneapolis, returns February 27-28, at the Minneapolis Convention Center, positioning itself as a must-attend for cannabis professionals. With over 100 exhibitors and 30+ expert sessions covering topics from market demand to supply chain strategies, the expo targets those seeking an exclusive opportunity to contribute to Minnesota’s cannabis industry on the ground floor.
This B2B-focused expo attracts growers, manufacturers, entrepreneurs, financial professionals, medical professionals, and legal experts, capitalizing on Minnesota’s position as the 23rd state to end prohibition.
Hall of Flowers — Ventura, CA
Occurring on March 18-19, Hall of Flowers Ventura is essentially California’s cannabis buyers’ show, a tightly curated, design-forward trade event where licensed brands and retail buyers meet to see, sample, and place orders. The primary focus is B2B: helping brands get in front of the right dispensaries and distributors, and helping retailers quickly scout what’s next in flower, vapes, edibles, and lifestyle products, all in a setting that feels more like a boutique marketplace than a generic expo.
The event exists to bridge culture and commerce. Over two days, exhibitors build out highly branded booths, buyers move through with scheduled meetings and walk-ups, and there are compliant consumption areas, product demos, and some programming on trends and regulations. The core audience is brand founders, sales teams, retail buyers, and ancillary providers (plus some media and influencers) — people there to do real business, not just walk a show floor.
NECANN Boston — Boston, MA
This is the “annual meeting of the Northeast cannabis industry”—a big-tent B2B convention at the Hynes Convention Center that pulls in 9,000+ attendees, 300+ exhibitors, and 60+ programming sessions over two days. It exists as the central hub where New England’s cannabis ecosystem converges: licensed cultivators, retailers, brands, ancillary service providers, advocates, investors, and a slice of consumers, all in one place. Think expo floor meets policy summit meets networking marathon.
Across April 24–25, the show blends a massive exhibit hall with education tracks, the NECANN Cup awards, and even a psychedelics-focused programming strand. Attendees come to see new products, learn the latest on regulation and market trends, raise or deploy capital, and lock in partnerships, with Boston functioning as the East Coast’s go-to place for cannabis deals, hiring, and strategy for the year ahead.
Cannabis Means Business — NYC, NY
Formerly known as CWCBExpo, this is the East Coast’s flagship B2B cannabis conference and expo, held at the Javits Center in New York City. Running June 3–4, with pre-show workshops and a B2B rooftop bash on June 2, it’s built for founders, operators, investors, and policymakers who are there to network, learn, and lock in partnerships—not just walk a show floor.
Across the two main days, the event blends a large expo hall with conference sessions, workshops, and high-touch networking formats, such as an industry yacht party and a Women in Cannabis entrepreneur luncheon. The primary audience is decision-makers and well-established professionals from across the U.S. cannabis ecosystem, making it one of the most efficient places on the East Coast to raise visibility and move deals forward.
NECANN New York — NYC, NY
Another NECANN hit, NECANN New York – Cannabis & Hemp Convention, is a dedicated deep dive into the Empire State’s market, held at the Albany Capital Center in October. Designed as a New York–first industry hub, it brings together local operators, multistate brands, service providers, investors, and advocates for two days of programming and expo action.
On the floor and in the session rooms, you’ll see market-specific education, policy discussions, and networking rather than generic cannabis content: panels on licensing and compliance, “legacy to legal” transitions, capital and careers, plus an exhibit hall packed with local and national companies looking to plant a flag in New York. The primary audience is entrepreneurs, license applicants, existing operators, and ancillary businesses who want to understand—and actually win in—the New York market.
MJBizCon — Las Vegas, NV
MJBizCon in Las Vegas is the largest cannabis business conference and expo in the world, drawing 20,000+ professionals, 1,000+ exhibitors, and hundreds of speakers each year. It’s built for one core purpose: to be the place where the global cannabis industry comes to do business—whether that’s sourcing equipment, meeting new investors, scouting tech, or pressure-testing your strategy against where the market is actually heading.
Over several days, MJBizCon layers pre-show forums (finance, marketing, science), a massive multi-pavilion expo hall, and 60+ conference sessions with after-hours networking, equity and women-in-cannabis events, and offsite parties like NuWu After Hours. The primary audience is licensed operators, investors, ancillary providers, and executives from every corner of the supply chain, which is why it’s widely treated as a non-negotiable stop on the annual cannabis calendar.
Final Thoughts
At the end of the day, these events are more than name badges and swag bags—they’re the environments where the next chapter of cannabis gets written… and maybe even planted.
On the surface, it’s expo halls, panels, and after-parties. Underneath, it’s who gets distribution, who lands capital, and whose story gets amplified. Rolling Stone Culture Council is the platform that helps you turn those conference conversations into published thought leadership, an elevated profile, and real cultural capital.
