{"id":402408,"date":"2026-07-17T17:06:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T17:06:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/402408\/"},"modified":"2026-07-17T17:06:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T17:06:14","slug":"california-cannabis-industry-blazes-path-with-exhibit-at-state-fair-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/402408\/","title":{"rendered":"California cannabis industry blazes path with exhibit at state fair"},"content":{"rendered":"

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) \u2014 It used to be a hike to get to the California State Fair\u2019s cannabis consumption lounge.<\/p>\n

Visitors would buy products in one area, then start a long, cardboard cutout-lined path to where they could imbibe. Fences separated them from the noncannabis portion of the fair.<\/p>\n

In fact, the entire cannabis exhibit, retail area and consumption lounge sat a world apart from the rest of Cal Expo, the home of the state fair each year in Sacramento. That was by design \u2014 a careful path to ensure people didn\u2019t have to see, hear or smell the area unless they wanted to.<\/p>\n

That hike lasted only one year. This summer, visitors will be able to consume cannabis near the purchase point.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a change that reflects the growing acceptance and prestige of the product, not only here but across the Golden State.<\/p>\n

Each year, the California State Fair shows off the best of this state\u2019s agricultural bounty, from wine to cheese to olive oil.<\/p>\n

One coveted California crop \u2014 cannabis \u2014 is taking an increasingly prominent role.<\/p>\n

As the state fair kicks off this Friday, July 17, it\u2019ll mark the the fifth year of this cannabis exhibit and the third year that on-site consumption has been allowed.<\/p>\n

Vendor numbers are growing, as is a competition for cannabis products. It mirrors the growing success and acceptance of this California industry, now worth around $4 billion.<\/p>\n

Spread across 350 acres at the Cal Expo fairground in Sacramento, the California State Fair is a celebration of all things California. There\u2019s live bands, livestock, funnel cakes and martial arts demonstrations.<\/p>\n

The most important aspect of the fair is agriculture, said Cal Expo CEO Tom Martinez \u2014 and cannabis is a major part of that. Nine of the top 10 agricultural counties in the country are in the Golden State, he noted, and cannabis is the state\u2019s biggest cash crop.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe citizens of California have spoken,\u201d Martinez said of the 2016 vote to legalize the plant for recreational use. \u201cIt is here. It is legal.\u201d As for this cannabis exhibit, which launched in 2022, \u201cit continues to be wildly successful and without incident.\u201d<\/p>\n

Winners in various divisions of the 2024 cannabis competition at the California State Fair are displayed at an exhibit. (Alan Riquelmy\/Courthouse News)<\/p>\n

Just as for wine and olive oil, the fair now hosts a cannabis competition. It\u2019s growing in popularity, going from 200 competitors in the first year to 800 now.<\/p>\n

Divided between indoor, mixed light and outdoor categories, cannabis flowers are lab-tasted and graded based on concentrations of THC, CBD and CBG (cannabigerol). They\u2019re also judged for six primary terpenes, compounds which give cannabis buds their flavor and scent and are believed to interact with cannabinoids like THC to produce varied effects.<\/p>\n

In 2024 \u2014 the same year California State Fair unveiled a cannabis consumption lounge \u2014 the competition expanded to include not just cannabis flowers but other products like pre-rolls, concentrates, beverages, tinctures and edibles. It all adds up to the largest cannabis competition in the country, said James Leitz, executive producer of the cannabis competition and exhibit.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s changed the game,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

These days, the Golden State\u2019s cannabis industry is blooming, carrying much the same prestige as other agricultural goods shown off here. But it\u2019s taken work to get to this point where cannabis products could be displayed, celebrated and sold like any other.<\/p>\n

California has long paved the way on cannabis normalization. In 1996, state voters passed Proposition 215, exempting patients and caregivers from criminal liability under California law for cannabis possession and cultivation.<\/p>\n

Those rules were formalized into a medical marijuana program in 2003. Finally, in 2016, Californians passed Proposition 64, legalizing possession of up to an ounce for those 21 years old or older.<\/p>\n

Legal dispensaries opened their doors on Jan. 1, 2018. A few years later, so did the California State Fair cannabis exhibit.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was a watershed moment for us,\u201d Leitz said. \u201cIt\u2019s become big. It\u2019s become quite a thing in the cannabis industry.\u201d But despite the unprecedented levels of acceptance, he says more work is needed to truly break down stigma.<\/p>\n

Lauren Carpenter is a self-described policy nerd, getting her start in Sacramento. It\u2019s an experience she says was formative.<\/p>\n

She took that knowledge into the cannabis industry, co-founding the companies Embarc and Embarc Events. In both policy and business, she says legalization and normalization are key to her work.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always think of myself as a bridge builder,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

A family emergency helped guide Carpenter into the industry.<\/p>\n

When her husband was young, his father suffered an aneurysm. Long on medication, he discovered the medicinal effects of cannabis and was able to wean himself off pharmaceuticals.<\/p>\n

The experience caused her husband to grow up seeing cannabis as medicine \u2014 and its criminalization as an injustice. As Carpenter put it, \u201creally seeing access as a fundamental issue of fairness and right and wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

After legalization, Carpenter worked at several cannabis businesses before branching out on her own.<\/p>\n

In 2019, she helped launch Embarc. The company now runs 17 dispensaries across the Golden State. It was also a major partner in bringing cannabis consumption to the state fair, where it now runs a temporary retail spot once a year.<\/p>\n

A timeline of cannabis at the California State Fair. (Alan Riquelmy\/Courthouse News)<\/p>\n

California has celebrated its agricultural industry at the state fair for more than a century.<\/p>\n

Like many who work in cannabis, Carpenter points to cannabis as an agricultural product.<\/p>\n

The cannabis industry now uses its exhibit here to educate and engage attendees. When it first appeared in 2022, \u201cit was sort of a baby step,\u201d Carpenter said. \u201cIt\u2019s been an evolution. It\u2019s been a journey.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leitz spearheaded the exhibit, developing its educational aspect as well as the cannabis competition. First launching in a 5,000-square-foot building, it\u2019s now expanded to a 50,000-square-foot former waterpark at Cal Expo.<\/p>\n

Here, visitors can talk to farmers, buy products and consume them. Carpenter partnered with Leitz to bring on-site sales and expand the competition.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs you would want in your wine or cheese,\u201d Leitz said.<\/p>\n

Although cannabis has come a long way since full legalization began some 10-plus years ago, there\u2019s still a haze of stigma around the subject.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a stigma that Carpenter and Leitz are working to eliminate through education. The state fair plays a role in that.<\/p>\n

\u201cDestigmatization is a process,\u201d Carpenter said. \u201cI think we have a long way to go towards normalization.\u201d<\/p>\n

One piece of that involves its origin story \u2014 its long history as a medicinal and therapeutic plant.<\/p>\n

Another is language. People in the industry shy away from words like \u201cweed\u201d and \u201cpot,\u201d instead preferring the technical name, \u201ccannabis.\u201d Still, Leitz said it\u2019s a balancing act to be respectful without becoming language police.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to get away from that,\u201d he said of terms like pot \u2014 \u201cbut we don\u2019t want to forget about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also plenty of red tape involved in bringing cannabis to the fair. Organizers coordinate with Cal Expo police, as well as state and Sacramento County officials, on planning, documentation and other compliance matters.<\/p>\n

The result is a cannabis exhibit that, just like any other agricultural exhibit, runs smoothly and with no issues.<\/p>\n

Cannabis isn\u2019t what its naysayers claim it is, Carpenter said. That\u2019s just what its supporters want: no problems.<\/p>\n

Even so, for those who work in the industry, it can still feel surreal to see cannabis become so professionalized.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou continue to get that \u2018a-ha\u2019 moment,\u201d Leitz said. To see that cannabis has found a niche at the state fair, \u201cI think it still really surprises people.\u201d<\/p>\n

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