California Cannabis Awards: Setting the National Standard
With just days left to enter, the 2025 California Cannabis Awards are closing submissions next week, and it’s shaping up to be the most impactful year yet for this groundbreaking competition.
For those unfamiliar, the California State Fair is in its 171st year and draws over 700,000 visitors to Cal Expo each summer. Its mission has always been to honor the best of California agriculture - from wine and cheese to craft beer, olive oil, and now, cannabis.
The Cannabis Awards, now in their fourth year, are the first government-sanctioned cannabis competition in the United States - a historic milestone for our industry.
A Judging Process That Elevates the Industry
To ensure fairness, transparency, and professionalism, the California State Fair partnered with Budist to lead the human-judging process for the second year in a row.
Who Are the Judges?
The Budist judging panel features some of the most trusted, knowledgeable and diverse professionals in cannabis:
- Legacy operators with deep roots in California’s cannabis culture and heritage
- Producers with backgrounds in cultivation and hashmaking
- Cannabis researchers working on cannabis science and social policy
- Retail buyers who know what sells and why
- Educators with backgrounds in consumer education and product appreciation
- Journalists who write for major cannabis news outlets and indie publications
- Wellness specialists focused on use-case performance
Each judge was selected for their expertise and assigned to categories that align with their background. Their role: evaluate each product with integrity and insight, using a transparent and standardized method, to help set a new standard for cannabis quality.
How Products Are Judged
Budist applies a 100-point scoring system, modeled after the international standards used in wine, coffee, and chocolate competitions. Each entry is evaluated across four key attributes:
- Aroma – complexity, intensity, and freshness
- Flavor – taste profile, smoothness, richness and mouthfeel
- Appearance – quality, trichome structure, and visual appeal
- Effect – mental and physical experience, and whether the product delivers on its intended use case
Judging is conducted independently then in groups to determine finalists, and all judges follow a standardized scoring methodology developed by Budist. Scores are averaged and verified to determine Gold, Silver and Bronze medals in each sub-category, and a single Golden Bear is awarded to the highest-rated product in each major category.
Product Categories
While the first two years of the competition focused solely on Flower and used analytical testing, 2025 marks the second year of human sensory judging—and the competition now includes all of the major cannabis categories:
- Flower (evaluated through analytical testing with SC Labs)
- Sun Grown
- Mixed Light
- Indoor
- Pre-Rolls
- Non-Infused
- Infused - Solventless
- infused - Solvent
- Blunts
- Cartridges
- Solvent - Terpenes Added
- Solvent - Live Resin
- Solventless
- Concentrates
- Solvent
- Solventless - Rosin
- Solventless - Hash
- Edibles
- Chocolates
- Baked Goods
- Candies
- Wellness Products
- Tablets/Capsules
- Topicals
- Tinctures
- Beverages
Each sub-category will have Gold, Silver and Bronze medal winners, plus one Golden Bear Trophy (Best in Class) for the top-performing product in each major category.
Why It Matters for Brands
In today’s crowded market, third-party validation is more than a badge—it’s a valuable asset that helps brands tell a more differentiated and impactful story. Participating in the California Cannabis Awards gives brands:
- Unmatched credibility through a state-sanctioned, standardized process
- Massive exposure to consumers, buyers, and media through the fair and digital channels
- Retail storytelling power via awards-based branding and recognition
- Sales momentum through featured availability via Embarc at the Fairgrounds (for Golden Bear winners only).
- Professional reviews published on the Budist app to build digital reputation. At Budist, we believe in recognizing and memorializing the award winners, and we showcase the winners on our app, website, newsletter, and social media.
Whether you're a craft cultivator, manufacturer or category leader, a State Fair medal helps solidify your reputation as a producer of quality and distinction.
Final Call: Entries Close Next Week
If you're a licensed California cannabis brand, this is your final chance to be recognized on the biggest stage in the industry. Entries close next week. Submit your products now at CalCannabisAwards.com and earn your place among California’s finest. Let your work be celebrated, validated, and seen by all!