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For 2026, the California Cannabis Awards adds a new category for the backyard farmer. Here’s what you need to know.
Are you a Golden State ganja green thumb with a knack for growing backyard bud? If so, the California Cannabis Awards is giving you a chance to prove your pot prowess thanks to a newly added Home Grow – Flower competition.
According to the organization’s February 23 announcement, the new competition category is “designed to recognize cannabis flower cultivated by California residents for personal, non-commercial use,” and will be judged using the same methods and criteria as the professionally grown flower in the annual agricultural event that awards an assortment of gold, silver and bronze medals in the run up to the California State Fair in mid-July where best-of-the-best Golden Bear awards are handed out.
If you think your home harvest has what it takes, here’s what you need to know — and do — to officially enter the competition:
How much time do I have to grow my potentially award-winning weed?
The submission window for the home grow competition — and the rest of the 2026 California Cannabis Awards categories — is open through May 22, 2026. That means your magical plant needs to have been grown, harvested, dried and cured by then.
The reality of this deadline is that this year’s award-winning weed has almost certainly already been harvested.
How much does it cost?
Each submission requires a $250 entry fee, which covers laboratory testing, chemometric analysis and eligibility for medal awards.
What do I need to do?
Start by filling out the official California Cannabis Awards entry form completely (incomplete forms won’t be accepted). Then, create an SC Labs account either through the link in the registration portal or by going directly to www.sclabs.com.
Next, seal and label seven grams of cannabis flower per entry according to SC Labs’ submission requirements and schedule your sample(s) to be picked up by the lab folks.
What will SC Labs be testing for?
The lab’s analysis will look at potency, terpene concentration and cannabinoid concentration and generate a chemometric report (think of it as a kind of chemical fingerprint), which will be the basis for competition scoring. This is important because the competition medals will be awarded exclusively on those laboratory results.
What categories will medals be awarded in?
Gold, silver and bronze hardware will be handed out in the following categories:
- The highest concentration of the following six specific terpenes: limonene, myrcene, beta-caryophyllene, pinene, ocimene and terpinolene
- The co-dominant terpene profile MCL (Myrcene-Caryophyllene-Limonene)
- Total terpene concentration
- Primary cannabinoids CBG and CBD
- Overall cannabinoid concentration
Is this the same criteria used for judging the professionally farmed flower categories?
Kind of. The chemotype-based sub-categories are the exact same ones used for judging commercial flower entries. The only difference is that the Home Grow entries won’t be separated by cultivation method; sun-grown, indoor and mixed-light submissions will compete together within each category.
Once I’ve submitted my entry, then what?
All gold medal winners in the Home Grow competition will be invited to participate in a live, on-site judging panel held on Saturday, July 25, at the California State Fair to compete for a Golden Bear trophy and the title of “Best Home Grow in California.”
This is crucial: Since the panel of expert judges — the same ones judging the commercial flower categories — will need to sample the gold-medal herb,it’s important that all entrants keep an additional 14 grams of product on hand until the medal winners are announced.
Where can I find out more information?
An extensive competition guide as well as additional information about the 2026 California Cannabis Awards can be found online at www.calcannabisawards.com/awards.
This article is from an external, unpaid contributor. It does not represent High Times’ reporting and has not been edited for content or accuracy.
