The California State Fair got a little higher this year. And not just because of the on-site consumption lounge.
On July 22, legendary hip-hop group and certified cannabis icons Cypress Hill were awarded the Golden Advocacy Award at the California Cannabis Awards, held inside the California State Fair in Sacramento. The honor celebrates their three-decade ride-or-die commitment to cannabis culture, legalization, and fighting for the freedom of the plant, and the people behind bars for it.
The award, co-presented by State Fair CEO Tom Martinez and Lauren Carpenter, CEO of embarc, marked a full-circle moment for a group that’s never been shy about lighting one up — on stage, on records, or on Capitol Hill.
Let’s Get Free
“When we started, talking about cannabis was rebellious,” said B-Real, accepting the award before the group’s headline performance on the Toyota Concert Series stage. “But for us, it was always about pushing for truth, freedom, and justice.”
From the early ’90s, Cypress Hill made it impossible to ignore weed in hip-hop, or anywhere else. Their rhymes weren’t coded. Their politics weren’t performative. They were loud, proud, and puffing right in your face.
By 1993, they were putting weed facts in the liner notes of Black Sunday. By 2010, they were touring with NORML to support California’s Prop 19. And in 2024, they launched the We Legalized It tour, donating $1 per ticket to Last Prisoner Project to help free people still locked up for the same plant Cypress Hill helped normalize.
When Music Fuels A Movement
“They didn’t just help destigmatize cannabis,” said Carpenter. “They made it impossible to ignore.”
And she’s right. Cypress Hill’s entire discography is basically a high-level civics course in legalization, freedom, and fire weed. But beyond the bars, they’ve evolved into leaders of a much larger movement, with B-Real’s Dr. Greenthumb dispensaries now operating in six California cities and eyeing national expansion.
They’re not just smoking it. They’re building it.
High Honors at the High Fair
The California Cannabis Awards, part of the State Fair’s growing cannabis programming, are all about recognizing the people and organizations shaping the legal weed landscape in California and beyond. This year’s fair includes new product competition categories, on-site sales, education exhibits, and a full-blown consumption lounge (because let’s be honest, nothing pairs with deep-fried Oreos quite like a joint).
