Cannademix has spent the last few years carving out a real lane in New Jersey by treating cannabis as both culture and curriculum. What began as education-first programming and community-driven events has evolved into something bigger: a platform that brings industry leaders, advocates, and everyday consumers into the same room and pushes the conversation forward.
On Tuesday, December 30, 2025, Cannademix scaled that mission into a full-blown celebration at Waterside Restaurant & Catering in North Bergen, hosting the Third Annual New Jersey Budtenders Ball & Cannabis Community Awards.
The theme set the tone immediately. Branded as a “Weed Winter Wonderland,” the night leaned into formal and cocktail attire, with a clearly enforced dress code. That decision did more than dress the room up. It signaled that the people who keep this industry moving—especially budtenders—deserve a night that looks and feels like a proper awards ceremony.
A Room That Felt Like The Whole Industry
High Times attended with Kyle Rosner traveling alongside the crew from HoneyGrove, and the first impression landed fast. The crowd didn’t feel niche. It felt statewide. Retail operators, brand reps, lab professionals, advocates, and community organizers packed the space, creating a cross-section of New Jersey’s market that rarely gathers under one roof.
Cannademix also made access a priority. The event offered free entry for New Jersey cannabis industry workers who registered in advance and presented an NJ CRC Employee ID, with matching names required at the door. That policy kept the night grounded in the workforce itself, not just the business layer above it.
Community Touches, Not Just Party Lighting
The Budtenders Ball unfolded as an immersive experience rather than a single-stage program. Cannademix highlighted installations like The Gazebo Gallery, a visual look back at the organization’s milestones, and The Tree of Light, a reflective piece honoring community members who have passed.
Advocacy stayed front and center through a Letters to Prisoners activation in partnership with the Last Prisoner Project, inviting attendees to write to people still incarcerated for cannabis. Cannademix noted that Kyle Page, a social equity license holder and formerly incarcerated individual freed through LPP, helped run that station.
Other experiences leaned playful and hands-on, including rolling education, a puff-and-paint station, and a holiday-themed snow globe activation. The balance mattered. It kept the night from slipping into stiff networking territory and instead made it feel like a culture-forward gathering with purpose.
The Trophies Stole The Show
Plenty of awards shows hand out hardware that looks pulled from a catalog. This one went the opposite direction.
According to event coverage, the trophies were designed by visionary artists Alex Grey and Allyson Grey and crafted through their Chapel of the Sacred Mirrors (CoSM). Shaped like a cannabis flower and featuring a hidden stash compartment, the awards came with the artists themselves explaining the concept on stage.
HoneyGrove also helped bring that moment to life, showing up as a visible supporter of both the ceremony and the broader community it celebrated.
The Awards: Spotlighting The People Who Build The Market
Cannademix CEO Josh Alb framed the ceremony around recognizing the “pioneering work” happening across New Jersey’s cannabis industry and community. The categories reflected that range, spanning advocacy and education through product and retail excellence.
The night opened with its highest honor: a Special Lifetime Achievement Award presented to longtime advocate and cannabis entrepreneur Leo Bridgewater, with Alb crediting his role in pushing for a more equitable market.
From there, the ceremony moved through the ballot categories. The 2025 winners, as reported, were:
- Educator of the Year: Eric Dawson (Higher Function)
- Reformer of the Year: Students for Sensible Drug Policy, Rowan University
- Lawyer of the Year: Natalie Diaz
- Brand Ambassador of the Year: Christian “Toast” Vargas (Garden Greens)
- Influencer of the Year: Visine Queen
- Hustler of the Year: Sam Padro (Jersey Smooth)
- Rookie of the Year: Victory Farms / Stash House
- Testing Facility of the Year: Trichome Analytical
- Medical Product of the Year: MCT Tincture (Breakwater)
- Edible of the Year: Good Time Rosin Gummies (Wyld)
- Disposable of the Year: Baja Blast Distillate Disposable (Jersey Smooth)
- Pre-Roll of the Year: Sour Diesel Tangy Haze (Test Kitchen / Garden Greens)
- Concentration of the Year: Apple Jelly Cold Cure Live Rosin (Onyx)
- Flower of the Year: Candied Garlic (Happy Farmer)
- Medical Dispensary of the Year: Breakwater
- Dispensary of the Year: Indigo
- Budtender of the Year: Lilly Dempsey (Brotherly Buds)
Coverage also noted that Cannademix’s team presented Alb with an honorary Community Catalyst Award during the closing stretch of the program.
What The Night Signaled
New Jersey’s cannabis market still has growing pains, and everyone in the room knows it. But the Budtenders Ball pointed to something else entirely. The industry wants rituals. It wants a calendar. It wants spaces where the people doing the daily work are recognized with real intention, not just tagged in an Instagram post.
Cannademix built an event that treated the cannabis community like something worth dressing up for. High Times showed up to document it. HoneyGrove’s crew showed up to represent South Jersey. And for one cold night in North Bergen, it genuinely felt like the entire state shared the same room.
Photos courtesy of “Cannabis Presents” PhotoBooth by PhotoBomb!, PolyFez, and Simbana Photography.
