The future keeps happening in California first—this time with world-class weed in the most mainstream setting of all: The state fair.
In late June, the California State Fair started notifying the winners of its third annual Cannabis Awards, organized by Embarc. The medal holders on the podium represent the peak of the craft of cannabis flowers, extracts, and edibles in 2024.
The best part: You get to go out and smoke ‘em.
This year the state fair adds an on-site smoking section for the first time, as well as a place to buy the weed. Past fairs lacked full-service amenities—but nobody puts Mary Jane in the corner. She’s front and center now.
Even better, you can shop the state’s 1,000-plus stores and delivery services for the winning brand today. Like, right now. Leafly has more than 8,000 US stores and 8,500 strains on the site.
Remember: winning batches of weed are like sunsets—you get one chance and it’s gone forever. So savor them.
Here’s how to get all the good-good before it’s all gone.
LANTZ vape pen
Ridgeline Farms + Arcata Fire
The best of Emerald Triangle flower, and extract skills unite in this gold medal vape pen. Ridgeline Farms has dominated the Emerald Cup with their Ridgeline Runtz, and in-house cross LANTZ. Arcata Fire has set the bar for extracts out of Eureka.
No surprise that this small-batch, top-shelf brand stays hard to find statewide—whether it’s on Leafly, a competitor, store websites and beyond. The best stuff sells itself. Your best bet is to get to the California State Fair weed mall and smoke zone for some direction.
Ridgeline Farms flower is on sale at Bay Area spots like Mission Organics, 7 Stars, and Cookies.
Down in LA, check Cornerstone Wellness Varda and Kings Crew.
Pink Boost Goddess
Emerald Spirit Botanicals
Get this high-THCV, floral, sativa from Eureka Sky, Solful, and 7 Stars in the Bay Area. In San Diego, hit up California Holistics for the “Farm Cut” of it, and keep it like a farmer would, with the protective sugar leaves still on. Look for Pink Boost Goddess. Emerald Spirit Botanicals pulled down four Gold medals including a Gold for the Most Terps.
Farmer and the Felon
Northern California-based, prohibition-inspired growers Farmer and the Felon-brand weed won four Gold or Silver medals so far.
Mercy Wellness
Mercy Wellness is more than a highly respected retailer of fine flower in Northern California. Their branded grow dominated the Fair—winning seven Golds or Silvers.
Largest-scale Carpinteria, CA greenhouse grower Glass House Brands also pulled down four medals.
Piescream
Snowtill
The best stuff is often comes in batches of less than 10 pounds, or 1,000 jars. That rarity is part of the fun of weed connoisseurship. San Francisco-based Snowtill, an indoor soil grower who came up from the traditional market, validated his hype with a California State Fair medal this June.
Snowtill got a Gold Medal for highest-testing terpene pinene for the strain Piescream, bred by Mean Gene from Mendocino and hunted by Skunktek. It’s Wedding Pie x (Cherry Limeade x Gelato 33).
Piescream won six Golds or Silvers—validating our love for it which began in 2023.
A search for Snowtill on Leafly turns up jars at 7 Stars, Richmond, CA, and Zen Garden, Stockton, CA. The deep East Bay puffs tough.
Hash Burger
Moon Valley
North Bay, CA, indoor soil growers Moon Valley took home a second year’s Silver for THCA with their Leafly favorite strain Hash Burger. Savory terps for the win. Moon Valley is small-batch and sells fast. But shop for other Hashburgers around you. Hash Burger ice water hash from Moon Valley also won.
Rank Rose
Coco Farms Antioch
A new one for us, Rank Rose, comes from Coco Farms in Antioch, CA, and you can buy it directly from them. Rank Rose took a Gold Medal, and comes from Pacific Reserve nursery, bred by Massive Creations. It’s a super-rare, potent, and balanced THC:CBD strain.
Riff OG
Ember Valley
Shasta, CA-based and large-scale indoor grower Ember Valley took home Silver for the gassiest strain in the state—that is, the one with the most caryophyllene. We see Ember Valley on sale on Leafly from Herb in LA, as well as Bay Care, and 7 Stars in the Bay Area. You can go buy Riff OG at Purple Star, or Off the Charts in San Francisco this afternoon.
Bred by Prolific Coast Seeds. Riff OG combines two OG Kushes—(Fire OG x Scott’s OG) x PCS1.
MOCA Humboldt
Eureka, CA indoor soil growers MOCA Humboldt took home 4 medals in the state fair including 3 golds and a silver. Their small batches sell super-fast, but have appeared at The Green Cross, and beyond.
Sonoma Hills Farm
North Bay, CA sungrown flower producer Sonoma Hills Farm took a Silver for Chemberry for highest CBDa. We’re seeing Solful stores, as well as 7 Stars Richmond carry Sonoma Hills Farm.
Dream
Dream brand cannabis took second place in rosin, but is still a rarity in California.
Even more winners
Hash
The rare Whitethorn Rose solventless hash from Ay Papi x Huckleberry Hill Farms took god.
In solventless rosin, aka live rosin, Hash & Flowers won with Z. Find them at 7 Stars, Richmond, CA.
Jetty Extracts of Oakland snatched a Gold with their Cereal Milk joints infused with Cereal Milk rosin. Yum.
Edibles
Space Gem retained their top honors with a Gold win for a CBD 1:1 gummy—arguably the best the world has to offer.
Topicals
Papa & Barkley bolstered their winning rep with a Gold for the 3:1 CBD Releaf Balm.
Tincture
Yummi Karma also kept their hype alive with their Lights Out Tincture. Beard Bros took Silver.
OK—that’s a slew of leads on the best weed in the biggest, most important weed state in the world. New York, the ball is in your court. Invite us to the Coney Island Cannabis Awards.
About the California Cannabis Awards
The California Cannabis Awards Golden Bears will be announced at a July 27 awards ceremony.
The Cal State Fair cannabis awards took entries through May 20 and used industry expert judges with the group Budist. SC Labs did the flower testing, as in year’s past. There are 16 categories.
- More than 1,000 Gold and Silver Medals go to the top two winners in each Chemotype and Product Category.
- Nine “Best of California” Golden Bear Trophies go to the overall winner in each Category.
- Specialty Awards include Unique Medals for rare and distinctive cannabinoid/terpene profiles in Flower categories.
“Budist provided a panel of cannabis experts to objectively assess the quality and craftsmanship of each new product entry, as well as, determine the Golden Bear winners for all 9 categories.”
The fair’s Cannabis Awards had over 500 submissions—shoutout Play Fair Ventures, a partnership of Cultivar Events and Embarc.
For even more winners peep out Leafly Buzz columns, 2023’s cup winners and where to find them.
And become the judge by reading our Ultimate weed contest calendar of 2024, and getting in on the People’s Choice Cups.
The Fair’s “California Cannabis Experience” opens daily from July 12-28 for fair attendees 21 and over.
Smoking is allowed starting July 14 from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. See full Schedule for details. Awards ceremony is on July 27th.
