The year 2024 seemed to include more cannabis awards in more places than ever before. End it on a winning note, by sampling at least one of the strains and products that won a cup title this year. From the tiny hamlet of Rhode Island to the sprawl of California, the yeehaw of Oklahoma to the terp fiends of Michigan—there’s something here, in these 3,000+ words, for everyone.

California

Farmer’s Cup 

Kicking off 2024 was the San Diego-based Farmer’s Cup, which touts itself as flower-only. Claybourne Co.’s Gas Plant took first place, followed by a Hashburger by Tall Tree Society and Ember Valley’s Grape Cream Cake.

In ‘Best Of’ categories Gas Plant took Best Aroma and Grape Cream Cake Best Flavor, proving that cannabis lovers still love funk and fruit. Maven Genetics made an appearance with their Best Appearance-winning Orange Sapphire. 

Transbay Challenge VI Mendocino

The sixth Transbay Challenge in Mendocino crowned Cherry Superboof #26 by Terp Tornado for flower and Papaya x Honey B by Humboldt Kine for rosin. Original Z once again flexed its supremacy with runners-up wins in both categories with Woodwide’s Z flower and Barrett Farms’ Peach Water x Z.

Emerald Cup

The first Bay Area-based Emerald Cup showed its influence on cannabis culture. You can read our full rundown of winners here, but here are the zaza cliffnotes.

Roswell 47 by Decibel Gardens is a cross of our 2023 Strain of the Year Jealousy crossed with their proprietary C-Note. It won the Indoor Flower Breeder’s Cup for its peppered berry terps. Runner-up Nameless Genetics stood out with their Mega Wellness OG, a Chemdog x OG Kush cross with an OG Kush male that dates back to 2002. Terp Mansion takes the Mixed Light crown with a tantalizing Thin Mint x Jealousy cross, yet unnamed.

Wave Rider Nursery and Humboldt Seed Co teamed up to bring HSC’s Blueberry Pancakes the Mixed Light Breeder’s Cup win, and second place for Mixed Light flower overall. Farmer + the Felon and Rebel Grown, teamed up to take gold both and the Sungrown Breeder’s Cup with Rebel’s Double OG Chem.

Ridgeline Farms’ proprietary Ridgeline Runtz is their brand leader. You can shop for another of their creations, LANTZ, which came in ninth.

Huckleberry Hill Farms and their Whitethorn Rose are dominating the solventless categories, no matter their partner. In this collaboration with Ay Papi, their Whitethorn Rose ice water hash reigned supreme. Ay Papi also took third place in the hash category with their team-up with Mattole Valley Sun Grown to produce Purple Papaya. Have Hash’s Sour Bears took silver.

CA State Fair Cannabis Awards

Florals, for cannabis? Groundbreaking. But the California State Fair Cannabis Awards are in bloom with plenty of flower-inspired and landrace strains in the winners’ circles. Savage Rose (Savage Farms), Rose Queen (Emerald Spirit Botanicals) and Rose Petal (Esensia), Lilac Diesel (Glass House Farms), and Rank Rose (Pacific Reserve Nursery) grabbed up a bunch of gold. 

There was a pointed return of more global strains like Panama Red, Durban Cookies, and Burmese Mimosa. Other mainstays include Pink Boost Goddess, and repeat winners Pie Scream, Ghost Vapor OG, and Modified Sherbet. 

Cannifest’s Headstash Cup

Royal Budline kept their crown on with the Overall Flower sweep with Sunday Brunch, Royal Z, and Cat’s Pajamas; funnily enough, they also won every Effect category with the aforementioned triple-tying for Best Hybrid, their Silk Pajamas cinching Indica, and Royal Z for Sativa. For concentrates, Grape Gas wins another trophy as Grape Gas Jam by Legacy Gardens. Whitethorn Rose by Ay Papi x Huckleberry Hill Farms x My Green Network (also an Emerald Cup winner) won second.

These were also the tied winners for Sativa effects, with Grape Gas also tying with Trichome Gold’s Banana Guava for Hybrid. Dream State Solventless’ heady mixed wash of Modified Lemonheads x Modified Sunset Octane x Dirty Z won for Indica, and third best overall. 

Oregon + Washington

Oregon Growers Cup

The Oregon Growers Cup knows that how you grow influences how the flower smokes. The three best flowers for 2024 were Government Oasis by Bogart Farms, London Jelly by White Wolf Cannabis, and Jealousy x OREOZ #5 by Sunny Valley Farms. For hash, Bonafide Cannabis came out on top with Fuji Full Melt.

Oregon Leaf Bowl

Oregon held its own Leaf Bowl (not to be confused with the Northwest Leaf Bowl), with an emphasis on flower divided by terp profile. To make it easy to understand, I’ve put it in list form:

OG/Chem—Zoap (The Crop Shop), Gas Basket (TrueCare Farms), Birthday Cake (Bald Peak Farm), Peanut Butter Breath (Green Queen Farms)

Dessert—Gelato 33 (Highnoon Cult), Londoncello (Left Coast Standard), Boston Runtz (Juicy Farms), Gary’s Wedding (The Plant)

Jack/Haze—Mac N Jack (Earl Baker), Where’s My Bike? (Benson Arbor), Silver Pine Haze (Bald Peak Farm), Super Lemon Mac (Green Queen Farms)

Exotic—Gastro Pop (PDX Organix), Trop Cherry (Left Coast Standard), Trip Choc Chip (Trip & Oregon Cannabis Collective)

Sweet—Apples & Bananas (Pruf Cultivar), Popscotti (TrueCare Farms), Cherry L3g3nd OG (Capital Cannabis), Guava Jam (Trip & Oregon Cannabis Collective)

Tropical/Floral—Point Break (The Crop Shop), Pineapple Milkshake (TrueCare Farms), Gold DropZ (Juicy Farms),

Open category—Pure Michigan (Earl Baker), Power #1 (TrueCare Farms), Grim Bastard (Verdant Leaf), Pressure (The Plant).

The Dockside Cup played out in heats, with strains going to head to head in rounds before the semifinalists, Grape Runtz (Sky High), Permanent Marker (K Savage), Cindy Jack (Mother Earth), and Brandywine (Doc & Yeti) emerged on top. Ultimately, Grape Runtz took gold. 

Northwest Leaf Bowl

The second annual Northwest Leaf Bowl was a doozy—in a good way. They broke down flower categories by terp profile and growing style, so get ready for another heady list: 

• If you like dessert strains—Purple Punch from Cannasol, Zkittlez from CannaOrganix, Hot Mess from High Country Horticulture, and Permanent Marker from Inglewood Brands 
• If you like exotic terps—Slurricane from Lazy Bee Gardens, Plu-dough from CannaOrganix, Tricho Jordan from 1937 Farms
• If you like the taste of Jack and Haze—Powderhound from Lazy Bee Gardens, Chocolate Orange Cream from Freddy’s Fuego, Jack Herer from Sacred
• If you want fuel and OGs—Cosmic Pie from Dewey Cannabis, GMO from High Country Horticulture, Permanent Marker from Blue Roots
• If you yearn for something tropical—Tropical Runtz from High Country Horticulture, Flying Hawaiian from 1937 Farms, Malibu Glue from Sacred 
• If you like a sweet treat—Grape Gasoline from Lazy Bee Gardens, Island Cookies from Dewey Cannabis, Purple Trainwreck from Cannasol, White Truffle bx4 from 1937 Farms
• And the open category—Permanent Marker from Free Rain Farms, Bacio Bars from Lazy Bee Gardens, Gelato OG from Toasted, and The Cat’s Pajamas from Fine Detail Greenway.

You can check out the full list of winners below, but shoutout to our 2024 SOTY Super Boof winning Best Rosin as a cold cure from Constellation Cannabis.

New York/Northeast

Connecticut is a tiny state, but they want to do cannabis in a big way. The Xpo Cup this year showed a taste for designer genetics, with winning strains Jordanz (a Gary Payton x Runtz cross) and Sundae Punch. Other strains of note include GMO, Taco Cat, and Grassachussets. 

The New York Cannabis Awards dolled out a number of trophies for both community members, brands, and products. Tarot Tokes won best overall flower brand, and Plugplay won best overall brand. If you love prerolls, Dank by Definition and Jack Bear Farm are the brands to beat. 

Rhode Island joins the award circuit with the multi-state Best in Grass competition. If you prefer a preroll, RI Finest Gardens dominated both infused and non-infused categories with Member Berries and GG Runtz. Their Apricot Berry Pie rosin also nabbed gold in concentrates.

Terple and Chem Bros by OSCC and Puro Loco by Ocean State Botanicals were the overall flower winners; honorable mentions to Donnie Burger by Zen Blend Farms and Magic Marker by South County Cultivators. 

NECANN’s Boston Cup 

NECANN’s Cup spans multiple states and both market and homegrow/caregiver spheres. We’ll only cover what you can get on dispensary shelves.

Pink Z by Advanced Cultivators won both best Sativa Flower and Preroll, while their Red Runtz won for hybrids. Bubba Fett by Fenway Cannabis Co. scored for Indica flower. Suncrafted Cannabis swept the rosin category, with their Super Boof taking gold.

Michigan/Midwest

Zalympix

Don’t sleep on Midwestern cannabis—Michigan least of all. The 2024 Zalympix crown went to Slurmz by Voyager Bloom, as well as Best Taste and Best Terps. Clout King’s Wagyu was Best Looking while Seed Junky’s Magic Marker was Heaviest Hitter and Spartan OG by Premier Gardens was dubbed Gassiest. Fractal’s take on Jealousy F2 earned a respectable second place in all categories.

Illinois Best in Grass

Revolution Cannabis had a field day at the Illinois Best in Grass competition, winning two of the three flower categories with Raspberry Shortcake and Gorilla’d Cheese. NEZ took gold with Cadillac Rainbows, and UpNorth’s Durban Poison won the Medical Flower category. If you like to dab, Revolution’s Gorilla’d Cheese and The Stepsister plus Aeriz’s Purple Milk were standouts.

Best in Grass Michigan

Michigan had its own Best in Grass, showing off a mix of designer and holistic terps. Permanent Marker, our 2023 SOTY, won the flower preroll category by Uplyfted Cannabis Co, and Seed Junky reigned over the hash hole joints with Gello Shotz. Seed Junky popped up in a few places for flower; they won second place in two flower categories with Tropical Burst and Magic Marker, but Cap Junky by Uplyfted was dubbed Sativa Flower winner.

Michigan Loud Flower Farms won Indica with Jar Jar Stinks #21, and Society C beat out the Hybrid category with Gastro Pop. Peachy Hash’s spin on Moroccan Peaches won the non-solvent dab category.

Best of the Rest

Spannabis

Across the pond in Spain, the Spannabis Champions Cup awarded some of Europe’s best flower and hash. Dante’s Inferno # 6 and Tropaya won the highest smokable honors, with special jury awards going to Gelonade and Highribo. Fruit-forward dabs were hot, with Bananaz and Original Z taking gold for hash and rosin, respectively; the rest of the podium was a fruit salad of Peach N Lime, Grape Gas, and Z-Lime.  

Ego Clash

Barcelona’s Ego Clash, an invitation-only hash-off kept the fruit trend going, with Single Sorcery’s ZHead and Bud Professor’s Melon Ball.

Best in Grass Oklahoma

In Oklahoma, citrus and funk reign supreme. Flower was like a basket of lemons; Super Lemon Gogi by Rec Habits, Jubel’s Galactic Warheads, and Garlic Cocktail by Heartland Farms made up the golden winners. Other notables were two different Mimosa crosses, Citrus Gelato Cake, and Metallic Marker. Grape Gas continues its national spread with a win in the concentrates category. 

Arizona Growers Cup

At the Arizona Growers Cup, hundreds of entries duked it out for over a dozen categories. For commercial flower, our 2024 SOTY Super Boof (grown by Summus Grows) took second place, while Aeriz’s NF1 reigned number one and High Fructose Corn Syrup by Copperstate rounded out the podium. Super Boof also won the vape cart category as an all-in-one rosin, and second for vape pods. The classic Jack’s Cleaner took first for BHO concentrates, and 8-inch Bagel won solventless. 

Errl Cup

Also in Arizona, the Errl Cup found an oasis of terps in the desert. For their spring competition open class category, Qualifire was the brand to beat, winning all three indoor flower categories with Raindough, Stellar Blue #1, and Crispz. If you prefer sungrown, then it was Verde Valley Genetics’ Royal Fire OG Kush. For dispensary flower, check out winners Blue Blitz by Abundant Organics, Aeriz’s Jenny Kush, and Connected’s Biscotti. Other podium placers of note: Aeriz’s take on Jealousy. 

For the errl of the Errl Cup, Aeriz brings the best solventless dabs. Ice Cream Cake,Jet Fuel, or Cap Junky—take your pick! If you prefer a sugar, wax, or shatter, Hashishans won with Garlic Fusion x Full Send and Mohave Cannabis Co. made a winning Blue Dream sugar.

Maryland Leaf Bowl

Maryland had a great first year of legal cannabis, and the Leaf Bowl shows the state’s taste for fire.

• Best Chem/OG flower—Animal Faceby Rythm/Green Thumb Industries
• Best Dessert flower—Mac 1 by Grassroots
• Best Jack/Haze flower— Yum Yum by Verano
• Best Tropical/Floral flower—Sour Peel by Evermore Cannabis Co.
• Best Sweet flower—The Big Smooth by MariMed/Nature’s Heritage
• Best Exotic flower—Midnight Circus by Evermore Cannabis Co.

National Cannabis Championship

In the DMV, the National Cannabis Championship shed light on a region just finding its stride in the cannabis world. District Cannabis out of Maryland cinched a triple whammy of Grand Champion, Terpene Champion and Cannabinoid Champion with Layer Cake. Homegrowers made valiant efforts with Candy Fumez, Carbon Fiber, Silver Rock Candy and Ransomware. 

For individual states, DC crowned a strain with a name I don’t think we can say, but is linked below. Virginia judges chose Candy Fumez and for Maryland it was Vice City.

American Autoflower Cup

Autoflowers are on the rise, and the second American Autoflower Cup showed out with winners Ztrawberriez from Fast Buds and Cali Bubba from Twenty20. Mephisto Genetics won Best Breeder, plus a second place trophy for their Old School Mango Haze.