High Times magazine sponsored the original “Cannabis Cup” in Amsterdam in 1987. The event inspired plant breeders and publicized their strains and their seed companies. It has been held annually ever since — a fine excuse for a trade show and an extended party at harvest time.
The pretext of a cannabis cup is that discerning judges will sample various strains and determine the best (to be announced at the climactic awards ceremony). The truth is, it's impossible for judges, after sampling strain #1, to then distinguish the effects of sample #2. The body needs an interval of at least three or four hours for a return to baseline cannabinoid levels. Lester Grinspoon, MD, thinks that evaluating only one sample a day would be preferable.
High Times recently launched a glossy quarterly called HT Medical Marijuana News and Reviews, edited in San Francisco. To celebrate their arrival on the scene, the magazine staff organized the first ever “medical” cannabis cup, It was held last week-end at Terra, an events center — an erstwhile factory with a large side-yard — on Harrison St., kitty corner from the Sailors and Seamen's Union hall.
The weather was okay on Saturday, perfect on Sunday, and a whompin' good time was had by about 2,000 medical cannabis users each day. Tickets cost $50, vendors paid $1,500 for tables. It was not the standard High Times demographic — there were more middle-aged people and senior citizens. I figured about half the seniors had done time. And all had lived in fear of the cops and endured social contempt. Now they were passing joints in the sunshine, ignoring the “no tobacco smoking” signs, enjoying a sliver of freedom.
Valerie Corral, the leader of WAMM, had been assigned to judge the strains classified as Sativas. She was given 42 samples to evaluate six days prior to the event. I saw her one day that week at a meeting — she was sampling #32 and conscientiously recording her impressions in a notebook. DJ Short, the renowned plant breeder and seed merchant, had to judge 38 Indica samples. He and Val each managed to select a top five (in consultation with High Times editors), and then Jorge Cervantes, the best-selling author of cultivation guides, made the final call.
Valerie Corral is a very positive woman. She said that every bud she evaluated was “a jewel grown with the best intentions.” But the chemical residue on some made her cough, and one gave her a headache. DJ Short, who is not partial to Indicas in general, didn't find any he especially liked among the cup entrants. But the show must go on, and Cervantes made executive decisions based on appearance and aroma.
And the winners were… Best Sativa: “God's Pussy,” from GreenBicycles up in Crescent City… Best Indica: “Cali Gold,” from Mr. Natural, Inc…. Best concentrate (chosen by Chris Conrad and Mikki Norris from among 16 entrants): Ingrid, by the Leonard Moore collective, Mendocino… Best edible: biscotti from Greenway in Santa Cruz.
Steep Hill lab in Oakland tested the entrants for THC content. Steep Hill's David Lampach says that the cannabis cup entrants averaged 15-16% THC, whereas the buds the lab ordinarily tests average 10-12% THC. “The winners all had high THC levels,” according to Lampach, “but not necessarily the highest.” God's Pussy was found to contain 18.2%; Cali Gold 18.4%; and Ingrid hash 45.5% THC.
Lampach points out that Cali Gold, though classified as an Indica by the Cup organizers, might actually be a sativa-dominant strain, based on its lineage. The taxonomy of cannabis is very loose, to put it mildly. Sativas are said to have longer, narrower leaves; to take longer to reach maturity (important for growers); and to have a more cerebral effect (as opposed to sedating Indicas). DJ Short says there is no clear dividing line and cites the example of Flo, a strain he developed that is “a quick finisher but has narrower leaves and a Sativa effect.”
Both Valerie Corral and DJ Short said they were struck by the predominance of cannabis grown indoors and felt impelled to extol the virtues of the sun. So did Jorge Cervantes, who gave a talk on cultivation to a rapt SRO audience. Note that the Amsterdam cannabis cup is held in November, when the outdoor harvest comes in. In California, where most cultivation is indoors, the cup was held in June. Obeying the law of supply and demand requires lots of electricity.
High Times Medical News and Reviews gave an award to Lester Grinspoon, MD, for his enduring service to the cause… Grinspoon winced when he learned the name of the winning Sativa, and High Times promptly took the offensive term down from its website. Grinspoon has an idea to promote more dignified nomenclature in the future: judges should give weight to the name of a strain when evaluating its worth as a medicinal product.
Grinspoon is absolutely right about the names. With names like “God’s Pussy” or “Green Crack” (as seen on an offerings sign in a commercial for a medical marijuana dispensary, no less) only set the cause of legalization back.
How do you convince a middle-aged person they don’t have to be afraid of marijuana when they see a strain called “God’s Pussy”?
How do you convince people that marijuana is not a serious threat – that it is in fact less dangerous than legal drugs like alcohol or tobacco – when they see “Green Crack”?