Every year High Times and other organizations sponsor a series of events known as the Cannabis Cup. At each of the events, occurring in various cities throughout the US and in Amsterdam, those in the marijuana industry compete in a variety of categories.

Everyone competes for the Best Booth award, while Glass blowers and artists compete in the Best Glass category, bakers vi for honor of having the Best Edibles, manufacturers compete to be considered to have the Best Product, and others enter into the Best Non-Edible Medically-Infused Product category.

The rest of the categories are open to growers and extraction artists. There is the High CBD award for those focused on making potent medicine, then the Best Sativa, Best Hybrid and Best Indica awards are also handed out to those breeders making the most attractive plants with the best highs.

There are two extraction categories that award those making the Best Non-Solvent Hashes and the Best Concentrates.

Awarding Hard Work

The competitions let people show off the fruits of their long hours of labor to create the best pot plants and products possible. They award the companies who are making the pot industry better for all of us. Personally I am dying to try Madame Munchie’s Artisanal Cannabis Macarons which took home first place in San Francisco’s Medical Cannabis Cup.

Listing all of the winners would be pretty boring, but the results are available on various websites if you are interested in the results of each category. Many of the plants that won top honors are available at greenhouseseeds.nl. Seed banks are the only way to grow award winning plants, but genetics are not everything and the conditions a plant is grown in can highly effects the outcomes.

Judged by the People for the People

Possibly the best part about the Cannabis Cup is that any participant can be a judge. A special judge pass is required, but it allows the participants to choose which of the products they sampled are best in show.

There are no snobby judges wafting the smoke around talking in obnoxious tones about the nuances of the pinene smell and how it adds the most subtle and intoxicating background for a landscape of blueberry overtures. Unless of course that’s the type of person you are, in which case it is perfectly acceptable.

The cannabis cup is full of fun, music, marijuana and good vibes. It is a must see for anyone who enjoys cannabis and the many products that are derived from them. Just remember there are tons of products to sample, so pace yourself so you don’t end up passed out in a fountain or anything.