The 10th annual National Cannabis Research Conference runs October 19–21, 2026, at the DoubleTree by Hilton San Diego – Mission Valley. The Institute of Cannabis Research at Colorado State University Pueblo hosts the conference, which is held in conjunction with the National Interdisciplinary Cannabis Symposium. The program opens at 8:00 AM on Monday, October 19 and wraps at 3:00 PM on Wednesday, October 21.
Who it is for
NCRC is built for an interdisciplinary crowd: researchers, healthcare providers, policymakers, legal experts and judges, industry leaders, educators and social scientists. Organizers frame the event around fact-based decision-making across agriculture, medicine, law, economics and culture. This is a professional research gathering, not a consumer expo, so expect data, methods and peer questions rather than product booths.
What is on the program
Organizers bill more than 200 presentations, panel discussions and posters across the three days. Susan Weiss, PhD, delivers the keynote, and Ziva Cooper, PhD, gives the Mechoulam Lecture, named for Raphael Mechoulam, the Israeli chemist known for his foundational research on THC.
The National Interdisciplinary Cannabis Symposium side of the program lists legal and clinical luncheon roundtables, impairment detection and toxicology panels, and cannabis law and regulation programming. It also lists UC San Diego receptions and tours of a UC San Diego cannabis research center.
The social high point is a conference reception on the flight deck of the USS Midway, the aircraft carrier museum on the downtown San Diego waterfront.
Leadership and partners
Joanna Zeiger, MS, PhD, chairs the 2026 conference. Dr. Chad Kinney directs the Institute of Cannabis Research at CSU Pueblo, and Judge May Celeste (ret.) directs the National Interdisciplinary Cannabis Symposium. The conference also lists the Colorado Medical Cannabis Research Center and the American Cannabis Research Consortium among its collaborators.
CLE credits for attorneys
The conference provides continuing legal education credits, which is why attorneys sit in the same rooms as lab scientists. Organizers have filed for approval in several states, with general credits listed at 18 in Colorado, 20 in Florida, 16.75 in Maine, 20.4 in New Jersey, 20.7 in New Mexico, 20.5 in Nevada and 15.25 in Ohio.
Approval is pending in New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Washington. Attorneys in Arizona, California, Massachusetts, Michigan and New York self-report attendance to their own bars. To claim credit, attendees scan a QR code at the conference, complete the CLE evaluation form with their session list, and submit it to receive certificates.
Posters
Poster presenters work to a maximum size of 48 by 36 inches, with body text at 24 pt or larger. Each poster must include a title, abstract, introduction or hypotheses, methods, results and discussion or conclusions, and it has to go beyond the submitted abstract rather than repeat it word for word.
Registration and where to stay
Registration runs through the official conference site and its Eventbrite page, where refunds are available up to seven days before the event. The conference lists a special rate of $99 a night at the Days Inn by Wyndham San Diego Hotel Circle. The DoubleTree itself sits at 7450 Hazard Center Drive in Mission Valley.
All conference venues, including hotels and meeting spaces, are ADA-compliant. Companies interested in exhibiting or sponsoring can apply through the conference site, and questions go to conferences@dplump.com.
Past editions
The Institute of Cannabis Research has hosted the conference annually since at least 2017, and program books from recent years, 2021 through 2025, are archived on the conference site.
More on the fall calendar
If your work crosses into business and policy, the State of the Cannabis Industry Conference meets in Boston on October 26, the Capital & Policy Summit lands in Washington, DC on November 18, and MJBizCon 2026 fills the Las Vegas Convention Center December 1–4. Check the official site for last-minute changes.