Pubdate: Sun, 13 Sep 2015
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Copyright: 2015 The Washington Post Company
Contact:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/491
Author: Perry Stein

THE D.C. STATE FAIR HOLDS A MARIJUANA COMPETITION.

When Samson Paisely entered the buds of his marijuana plant in the 
D.C. State Fair's first-ever marijuana competition Saturday, he 
wanted to pay tribute to a man who legalized another once-illicit 
substance. So he named the strain of marijuana "Delano," after 
Franklin Delano Roosevelt - the president who repealed the country's 
prohibition of alcohol in 1933.

"If we can repeal prohibition, then surely we can smoke [marijuana] 
in America," said Paisely, 45, who grew the plants in his Adams Morgan home.

Paisely was one of 64 people to enter the competition hosted by the 
fifth annual fair in Shaw, which is sponsored by a nonprofit organization.

Hundreds of D.C. residents attended the kitschy festivities to see 
which of their neighbors could bake the tastiest pie, knit the nicest 
sweater, make the best pickles and grow the longest vegetables.

And this year, fair organizers added a competition to allow the 
District's newest league of amateur gardeners to show off their 
skills: the "Best Bud" competition, which drew the biggest crowd.

The city legalized marijuana in February and, under the new law, 
people can cultivate up to six marijuana plants at home, with no more 
than three plants mature at a time. That means the first crops of 
marijuana have had time to take root and provide some homegrown buzz.

"We are normal here. This is treated like home brew and everything 
else," said Adam Eidinger, one of the competition's judges and a 
prominent District activist who organized the campaign to legalize 
marijuana through a voter initiative. "We belong here."

By late afternoon, the judges, who had already whittled the 64 
submissions to five finalists, used magnifying glasses to closely 
examine the buds for infestations or mold.

"You are not going to win this competition with any of that," 
Eidinger yelled from the elevated stage as hundreds of fair attendees 
crowded around the judges' table.

The panel of three judges based their choices on a plant's 
appearance, odor, touch and the story behind it. Because consuming 
marijuana in public is still illegal, the marijuana was not judged 
based on potency or effectiveness.

Kenneth Gore, a horticultural systems engineer at Capitol Growers, 
took first prize-which included a blue ribbon and a $50 gift 
certificate to Mellow Mushroom, a pizza restaurant - for his strain 
called "Capital Chronic OG."

"It feels amazing. It feels validating to get recognized for doing 
something you love to do," he said.

Not all finalists were as horticulturally advanced as Gore. Patrick 
Burns, 27, an artist, was already growing tomatoes and other 
vegetables on his large patio at his Columbia Heights apartment. When 
marijuana was legalized, he bought about $200 worth of gardening 
supplies, read up online and quickly became a successful amateur pot 
grower. He reached the finals Saturday and seemed in good spirits 
when he didn't make it into the top three.

"I lost, but I still have a ton of pot to smoke," he said.

Other attractions at Saturday's fair included a pet parade, a Ben's 
Chili Bowl stand, food trucks and a vendor selling D.C.-themed 
tchotchkes. Let'sGrowDC, an indoor gardening supply store in 
Southeast that hosted the "Best Bud" competition, gave out 30 small 
clippings of marijuana plants at its tent that people could use to 
grow plants of their own.

Anna Tauzin, a board member and outreach director for the 
organization that hosted the fair, said that despite the addition of 
the marijuana competition, the fair remained a family-friendly event 
with no disruptions or problems with people smoking marijuana in public.

"This is not a pot festival," she said. "I'm impressed that everyone 
has been behaving themselves."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom