We have some news, and we are still taking it in.

Sessions By The Bay is a finalist for Best Retail Store Experience at the 2026 Emjays, the International Cannabis Awards produced by Farechild Events with MJBizCon. There are six finalists in this category in the whole country, and our one location on Bay Marina Drive in National City is one of them. You can vote once a day until Monday, November 2, and the winners are announced in Las Vegas on Thursday, December 3.

We did not even know we had been nominated. Nominations come from the public, so somebody out there put our name in. If that was you, thank you. Now we are asking everyone for one more thing: your vote.

What are the Emjays?

The Emjays are the International Cannabis Awards, put on by Farechild Events together with MJBizCon, the industry's big trade show. The 2026 winners are announced at a ceremony at Star Base in Las Vegas on Thursday, December 3, during MJBizCon week.

The winner in each category comes from a blended score: the public vote, combined with a panel of industry professionals who look at every finalist through a customer's eyes. Your vote is part of the result.

They count stores. We count nights.

This is the part we love. The six finalists for Best Retail Store Experience are Conbud, Curaleaf, Embarc, Hudson & Main Cannabis Company, Royzzz Premium Cannabis and Sessions By The Bay. One of them has more than 170 stores in more than a dozen states. The only other California finalist has more than a dozen of its own. Sessions has one.

We will never win on size. What we have is how a night at Sessions feels, and a community that keeps coming back to fill the room.

What you are voting for

If you have spent an evening with us, you already know. If you have not been yet, here is what a visit looks like.

• The dispensary. Flower, vapes, pre-rolls, edibles and concentrates, with people behind the counter who know what landed this week. Order ahead for pickup, or come in and browse.
• The lounge. San Diego's first cannabis consumption lounge with dining. Buy at the counter, then stay and enjoy it on site, inside or out on the patio. Came empty handed? Rent a device.
• The kitchen. Breakfast all day, burgers, flatbreads and ahi tuna, plus mocktails made with a 10mg THC elixir. Every mocktail also comes non-infused.
• Everburn Woods. Our hidden downstairs speakeasy, candlelit under a canopy of leaves.
• The calendar. Live bands on Fridays, comedy, markets and Sunday morning yoga, with something on most nights of the week.

The dispensary is open 6am to 10pm every day at 700 Bay Marina Drive, National City. 21+ with a valid ID.

How do I vote for Sessions By The Bay?

Voting is open now and closes Monday, November 2. It takes a couple of minutes the first time, and it is more than one tap, so here is the whole thing.

1. Open the Emjays voting page. It opens on Best Retail Store Experience. The six tiles come up in a different order each time, so scroll until you see our logo.
2. Tap Vote under Sessions by the Bay.
3. Register with your first and last name, email, company and state. You only do this the first time you vote.
4. Open the access link in the email you get. If it is not in your inbox, check your spam folder. That link is what lets you vote.
5. Come back tomorrow. You may vote once per day, and voting closes Monday, November 2, so every day between now and then counts.

The sign-up and the email check are there to keep out bots and fake accounts. We like it that way. We want to win this one fair.

Thank you

Whatever happens on December 3, this one belongs to everybody who has walked through our doors, stayed for a show, or brought a friend for the first time. Vote, pass this along to the people you would bring to Sessions, and come see us.

Vote for Sessions By The Bay