Microdose Beverages Meet Convenience Retail

Jon Halper of Top Ten Liquors says three in four shoppers in his stores don't buy THC products. Melissa Vonder Haar (CSP C-Store Cannabis Board) moderates Jake Bullock (co-founder and CEO, Cann), Lonnie McQuirter (36 Lyn Refuel Station, NACS legislative chair), Thomas Winstanley (Edibles.com, part of Edible Brands), and Grant Bleecher (TruAge) at CannaBev Summit 2026. The panel makes the case that convenience stores, bars and restaurants, and direct-to-consumer are where those shoppers will try their first THC drink, and that these are the channels state laws most often lock out.

Jake explains why Cann launched at 2mg seven years ago and why Live Nation drew the line at 3mg. Melissa and Lonnie make the case for convenience as an impulse, singles-driven channel, and Grant explains why NACS built TruAge for an industry that handles 54 million age-restricted transactions a day. Thomas describes an Edibles.com customer base that skews 55 and older. The panel also covers what the flavored-vape ban taught convenience retail about prohibition without enforcement, and closes with audience questions on drug interactions, ingredient sourcing, and how to define a bad actor.

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