Pubdate: Mon, 15 Dec 2014
Source: Press Democrat, The (Santa Rosa, CA)
Copyright: 2014 The Press Democrat
Contact:  http://www.pressdemocrat.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/348
Author: Clark Mason

POT CONTEST GROWS

In a sign of the burgeoning marijuana cultivation industry and its 
mainstream acceptance, an estimated 10,000 people flocked to the 
Sonoma County Fairgrounds over the weekend to honor the growers 
behind some of the finest and most powerful strains of pot in 
Northern California.

The Emerald Cup, now in its second year in Santa Rosa, drew a record 
number of people and entrants to the competition to acknowledge and 
celebrate "the best outdoor cannabis in the world."

Almost 900 entries were received this year, more than three times the 
amount vying last year for best marijuana buds, and other forms of 
cannabis, including concentrates such as hash oil, edibles and topicals.

The pot tasting competition in the heart of Wine Country was replete 
with judges' observations on smell, look, taste and effects.

The winner, Joe Peinado of Laytonville, won for his strain of "Sweet 
Serenade," which judges described as "solid big buds with densely 
packed crystals" redolent of "cardamon and eggnog, zabaglione, cherry 
turpentine."

And the effect of smoking it? "Big expansion and a clear mental high. 
Good for creative focus."

Peinado, who entered the contest for the first time, won a one-week, 
all-expenses-paid trip to Jamaica for two.

"I feel great. This is crazy. I never expected it," he said after 
stepping off the stage and being handed a glass bong and Emerald Cup trophy.

He said he feels great knowing that his cannabis "helps people that are sick."

As a grower or "breeder," for the past 20 years, he said, the Emerald 
Cup "elevates us. Before, we were scared. The scene has changed to 
where we can do this. Never in my life did I imagine this at the 
Sonoma County Fair."

As recently as 10 years ago, he said, "we were still outlaws. Now 
it's changed. We're farmers, we have families. We have kids."

But just by being in the finals, the winner said the price of his 
product that he provides to medical marijuana dispensaries already 
had gone up to $2,400 per pound, from $1,400 three days ago.

Winning the competition, said Tim Blake, Emerald Cup founder, is big 
business for seed breeders, like a gold medal in the wine industry.

"It's like wine. You have to win best of show to have your branding," 
Blake said. "It's becoming like any industry."

The Emerald Cup began 11 years ago as a celebration of the outdoor 
harvest in Mendocino and Humboldt counties, as a private event 
intended to avoid law enforcement scrutiny. Now, it's more like a 
fair with scores of booths offering bud samples and seeds, 
cannabis-infused food, pipes, vaporizers and other items. Single-day 
admission was $45.

The festival, dubbed "the Academy Awards of the cannabis industry" by 
Rolling Stone magazine, drew twice as many attendants as the 5,000 
estimated last year.

At the fair, smoking cannabis is largely confined to a (Proposition) 
215 area, named after the voter initiative that legalized medical 
marijuana in California in 1996.

Reflecting the proximity to Christmas was the specter of a man in a 
Santa Claus suit in the 215 area smoking a bong. There were marijuana 
baked goods in the shape of gingerbread men and large snowflakes.

The marijuana grown for the competition comes from an area stretching 
from Shasta County in the north to Santa Cruz in the south.

Eleven years ago when it first was held in Humboldt County, there 
were 34 samples, as opposed to the 898 samples this year, and 200 
people attended.

One speaker on Sunday said the 14 judges "proved once again that it 
is impossible to overdose on smoking marijuana," drawing laughter 
from the crowd awaiting the contest results.

One of the judges, Swami Chaitanya of Laytonville, said the entries 
are judged over a six-week period in a way similar to a blind tasting.

"The judges get samples and go home and smoke them," he said, to 
winnow out the finalists for further evaluation.

Organizers said winners get bragging rights and the plant seeds 
become good sellers.

For example, Aficionado dispensary, which won two years ago, was 
selling 10 seeds Sunday for anywhere between $150 to $250, depending 
on the strain.

"The growth in this contest is just exponential," said Daniel Reyes, 
a resident of Hayforth, who was there with a grower from Trinity 
County. "It's just an honor to be in it."

His friend who identified himself only as Adam said that being in the 
top 40 means for a grower that dispensaries will be calling and 
people will want to collaborate on breeding projects.

Emerald Cup founder Blake said cannabis is the largest agricultural 
product in the country, estimated at $1 billion in both Mendocino and 
Humboldt counties annually.

He said it's gone from a black market underground the past 30 and 40 
years to becoming a legitimate industry that will become one of the 
largest agricultural lobbying groups in the country.

"It's a peaceful revolution taking place," he said.

He predicted that legalization will happen in California in 2016. But 
he said it is important that it remain in the hands of small growers, 
"organic, sustainable and environmentally correct" and not become a 
corporate endeavor.

Marijuana went from being grown outdoors, to going into greenhouses, 
and is now back increasingly outdoors again under "full sun," said 
publicist Yvonne Hendrix, "It's come around full circle."

She said the Emerald Cup is "more than just a High Times event where 
people come to sample the wares."

There were panel discussions on everything from current cannabis 
research, to the future of the marketplace, legalization efforts and 
the use of cannabis to heal veterans.

On the "cultivation stage," attendees could learn about integrated 
pest and mold management, current trends in cannabis genetics, 
advanced organic farming methodology and the future of artisan hash 
in California.

Doctor evaluations were available on site for adults to obtain a 
medical marijuana card.

Skunk Magazine publisher John Vergatos said marijuana is "a medicine 
that helps people and the planet." 
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom