Honors a reporter, editor, producer, or independent journalist whose work investigated a cannabis safety issue with depth, accuracy, fairness, and public consequence.

Eligible nominees: Reporters, editors, producers, independent journalists, and other media professionals responsible for original cannabis safety reporting.

Recognizes an individual who has advanced cannabis safety and medical access through patient-centered advocacy, education, coalition building, or policy leadership.

Eligible nominees: Patients, caregivers, advocates, educators, coalition leaders, policy leaders, and others who have demonstrated individual leadership advancing cannabis safety and medical access.

Celebrates an elected official who advanced a practical, evidence-informed cannabis safety or medical-access solution during 2026.

Eligible nominees: Current elected officials at the local, state, territorial, tribal, or federal level whose public actions during 2026 advanced cannabis safety or medical access.

Honors an individual researcher or research team whose rigorous work expands understanding of cannabis safety and produces evidence that can improve patient care, public education, consumer protection, professional practice, or public policy. 

Eligible nominees: Individual researchers, clinician-scientists, scholars, public-health professionals, data experts, and members of multidisciplinary research teams responsible for original or translational research advancing cannabis safety. 

Highlights a company or organization that brought patients, families, healthcare providers, educators, businesses, or public officials together around a cannabis safety need.

Eligible nominees: Companies, nonprofit organizations, associations, public agencies, community organizations, coalitions, and other organizations leading collaborative cannabis safety efforts.

Recognizes an education campaign that made a complex cannabis safety issue understandable, useful, and actionable for the public.

Eligible nominees: Public education campaigns, nonprofit initiatives, company-sponsored education programs, public agency campaigns, community programs, and other educational efforts addressing cannabis safety.

Honors a campaign, training, tool, or public-service initiative that improves understanding of impairment, driving risk, prevention, enforcement, or transportation alternatives.

Eligible nominees: Impaired-driving education campaigns, training programs, public-service initiatives, educational tools, nonprofit programs, public agencies, research-based initiatives, and other programs addressing cannabis impairment and driving safety.

Celebrates age-appropriate education that helps young people, parents, caregivers, schools, or pediatric communities address cannabis honestly and responsibly.

Eligible nominees: Youth education programs, parent and caregiver resources, school-based initiatives, pediatric education programs, community campaigns, nonprofit programs, public agencies, and other age-appropriate cannabis education efforts.

Honors an organization or program that independently evaluates retail practices, age verification, accessibility, labeling, patient experience, compliance, or consumer safety.

Eligible nominees: Consumer protection programs, secret shopper initiatives, nonprofit organizations, watchdog groups, research organizations, public-interest projects, and other independent efforts evaluating cannabis retail or consumer safety practices. 

Celebrates a program or initiative that removes barriers to credible cannabis safety information, healthcare resources, practical support, or medical cannabis access for communities that have historically been overlooked or face obstacles to safe access.

Eligible nominees: Community-based programs, nonprofit initiatives, healthcare and public-health programs, educational campaigns, public agencies, culturally or linguistically responsive resources, disability-access initiatives, rural outreach efforts, affordability programs, and other initiatives that expand equitable access to cannabis safety information or medical cannabis resources.

Highlights a professional development, continuing education, certification, or workforce training program that improves cannabis safety knowledge and practice among healthcare professionals, regulators, educators, cannabis workforce, public safety personnel, or other professionals whose work affects cannabis safety.

Eligible nominees: Continuing education programs, professional training programs, certification programs, academic or workforce education initiatives, professional associations, healthcare education programs, regulatory training programs, and other professional development initiatives that strengthen cannabis safety knowledge, skills, or practice.

Honors a child-resistant, secure, practical storage product or system that helps prevent unauthorized access, accidental ingestion, loss, or diversion.

Eligible nominees: Storage products, locking devices, containers, cabinets, systems, accessories, or other innovations designed to improve secure cannabis storage.

Celebrates a product, technology, packaging system, storage solution, or other innovation that protects cannabis quality and integrity from light, air, moisture, temperature, contamination, damage, or tampering while supporting safe, clear, and practical use.

Eligible nominees: Packaging products, containers, closure systems, humidity- or temperature-control technologies, storage products, preservation systems, monitoring tools, and other innovations designed to protect cannabis quality and product integrity.

Honors a product, service, tool, or educational resource that helps adults respond calmly and safely to uncomfortable THC overconsumption.

Eligible nominees: Products, services, tools, educational resources, digital platforms, programs, or other innovations designed to help adults understand and safely respond to THC overconsumption.

THE 2026 FRESHNESS BY DESIGN AWARD: Product Preservation Innovation

Celebrates a product, program, technology, facility, or business practice that meaningfully reduces the environmental impact of cannabis production, distribution, or use. Strong nominations may address energy and water conservation, waste reduction, sustainable materials, reusable or circular systems, transportation, cultivation or manufacturing practices, or supply-chain transparency without compromising safety, accessibility, or regulatory compliance.

Eligible nominees: Cannabis businesses, nonprofit or public programs, cultivators, manufacturers, retailers, laboratories, technology providers, product and packaging designers, facilities, and collaborative initiatives demonstrating meaningful sustainability results.

Recognizes a whole-flower vaporization device or accessory that advances temperature control, materials safety, cleanability, dose awareness, and clear consumer guidance.

Eligible nominees: Whole-flower vaporizers, vaporization devices, accessories, temperature-control technologies, or related innovations designed specifically for whole-flower cannabis use.

Recognizes a device, accessory, package, or system that helps patients and adult consumers measure, portion, track, or understand cannabis dosing more consistently.

Eligible nominees: Dosing devices, measuring tools, portion-control systems, packaging innovations, tracking tools, digital platforms, or other products that help consumers better understand or manage cannabis dosing.

Spotlights a product, laboratory, platform, or transparency program that makes test results, ingredients, warnings, potency, batch information, recalls, or use instructions easier to understand and verify.

Eligible nominees: Laboratories, testing programs, labeling systems, transparency platforms, traceability tools, product information systems, packaging technologies, or other innovations that improve access to clear and verifiable cannabis product information.