Budist Newsletter: The Role of Competitions

Dear Friends,

As we wrap up another successful California Cannabis Awards and begin preparing for the second annual MJBowl, I've been reflecting on how our industry continues to evolve and where meaningful progress will come from over the next few years.

One of the unique challenges facing cannabis is that we still operate as a collection of fragmented state markets. While producers, regulators, retailers, and consumers regularly learn from one another, federal prohibition makes it difficult to establish the shared standards and common points of reference that exist in other agricultural industries. Wine, coffee, olive oil, and craft beer all benefit from national and international systems that help define quality, celebrate excellence, and create a common language that consumers and producers alike understand. Cannabis is still in the process of building that foundation.

Waiting for that framework to emerge on its own isn't a strategy. Building it requires collaboration among producers, retailers, judges, researchers, educators, and organizations willing to invest in moving the industry forward. Competitions play an important role because they create opportunities for those conversations to happen at every level. Regional competitions celebrate the people and products that define local cannabis communities. State competitions establish benchmarks for excellence within individual markets. National competitions bridge state lines, spark conversations between markets, and build a more unified dialogue around quality at a time when our industry is still shaped by state-by-state regulation.

That vision is one of the driving forces behind MJBowl. By bringing together California, Colorado, and New York under a common judging methodology, we're not trying to declare one state better than another. We're creating a platform where each market can showcase its own excellence while contributing to a broader conversation about craftsmanship, consistency, and what defines truly exceptional cannabis. The more we build shared standards and a common language around quality, the stronger our industry becomes.

This month's newsletter highlights the people and organizations helping make that possible. From the conclusion of the California Cannabis Awards to the launch of this year's MJBowl, we're grateful to be working alongside so many partners who believe that elevating quality is one of the most important investments we can make in the future of cannabis.

With Gratitude,
Jocelyn Sheltraw
Co-Founder & CEO