California Cannabis Awards Introduce Home Grow Competition for 2026

The California Cannabis Awards have announced an exciting new category for their 2026 event, focusing on homegrown cannabis. This competition aims to celebrate the skills of non-commercial growers across the state. The Home Grow – Flower category invites California residents to showcase their best cannabis cultivated for personal use, judged alongside professional entries at the prestigious annual event

According to the February 23 announcement, participants must submit their entries by May 22, 2026. This deadline means that potential competitors should have already harvested their plants to meet the requirements. A $250 entry fee is necessary for each submission to cover laboratory testing and analysis, which will be crucial for determining the winners of the competition

SC Labs will conduct the testing, focusing on potency, terpene, and cannabinoid concentrations. The results will generate a chemometric report that serves as the scoring basis for the competition. Unlike professional categories, the Home Grow entries will not be separated by cultivation methods, allowing sun-grown, indoor, and mixed-light submissions to compete together

Winners of the gold medals will have the opportunity to participate in a live judging panel at the California State Fair on July 25, 2026. Here, they will vie for the coveted Golden Bear trophy and the title of 'Best Home Grow in California.' Entrants should keep an additional 14 grams of their product for this final judging event, ensuring they are prepared for the live evaluation