New crop of US summer cannabis competitions announced
The COVID restrictions will be lifted and the dam for cannabis events has burst! This summer and fall, millions of weed fans will have more chances than ever to judge the best herb in their state.
Marijuana Awards provide a rare data point on cannabis quality, the history of which dates back to the first Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam in 1988. Now, with 18 legal US states and more, America’s cannabis competitions have become fully legal formats of people’s choice.
A number of new cannabis contests – such as High Times Cannabis Cups, Grow-Offs, Terptown Throwdowns, and Emerald Cups – are returning after a gnarled hiatus, encouraging more participation than ever.
Anyone 21 years of age or older can purchase judging equipment, smoke the contestants, and rank the winners; as opposed to a private group of industry judges.
Weed competitions already underway in 2021
In June, the leading Los Angeles pharmacy, Greenwolf, hosted the exotic cannabis competition “Zalympix” with 250 jury kits, online voting and an award ceremony on June 26th.
The seven year old greenwolf has always dominated the heyday and won the most trophies of all retailers. The store invited its best salespeople to compete in the Zalympix, where seats are running out in the high-level 16-way battle between:
- Alien Labs and their new Biskante variety
- Bohemian Estate and her Zake
- Cali Kush Farms’ Z-41
- Connecteds slow lane
- Deodorant Farms X Magic Tree Zoap
- Dojas RS-11
- Dubz Garden X La Coz ‘Gelato Plus
- Fire Society Etherium
- Green Dawgs Updawg
- Kush Co’s Kush Co OG
- LA Family Farms rainbow belt
- LoKey Farms’ Heavy Fog # 4
- Small boutique farms – chocolate mints
- The association – Bazquiat
- Turtle Pie Co-X-Rose
- Zushi by The TENCo – Blue Zushi
“Nothing really exciting was going on with COVID and everything and there weren’t many opportunities to shed light on these top-notch breeders,” said Greenwolf co-founder Brian Hart. “We pride ourselves on having the best of the best, and we decided to do something fun and connect it to our seven year anniversary.”
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The 2021 Emerald Cup winners and where to buy them
Each judging box contained 16 half-eighths of an ounce, making a total of one legal ounce of super hot fire for $ 700 out the door. Heavy smokers and growers bought a box, lit themselves with their friends, took notes for two weeks and voted using unique QR codes in six categories:
- Best overall result and Best tasting went to The Ten Co. for their Zushi brand Blue Zushi
- Best looking: Cali Kush Farms’ Z-41
- Best terps: Alien Labs’ biscuit
- The strongest and Most of the alleys—LowKey Farms’ Heavy Fog # 4
Pot competitions help outline the shape of the adult cannabis market in a state. In California, for example, indica-dominant hybrids of Gelato and Zkittlez dominate what the culture calls “exotic” or “zaza” for short. A hot new brand or intersection in LA creates counterfeits around the world days or weeks later.
“I think the world is definitely watching California cannabis,” said Greenwolf’s Hart. “If you’re a connoisseur, I don’t know how you couldn’t.”
Most of the legal breeders in the Zalympix were from the Sacramento, California area, as opposed to Los Angeles, where the implementation of adult cultivation licenses has stalled five years after legalization.
“As for the licensing of the cultivation, Los Angeles is known as the big shit show for lack of a better term,” said Greenwolf co-founder Adam Bregman.
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Best cannabis strains of summer 2021
Greenwolf is planning future Zalympix competitions in the fields of flower and hash and ideally wants to dazzle the jury so that packaging and branding have less influence.
“There has been an overwhelming response from growers and customers – we look forward to doing more,” said Bregman.
Upcoming U.S. cannabis competitions
Here is a roundup of other cannabis competitions announced for 2021.
Arizona
California
Colorado
Illinois
Maine
Massachusetts
Michigan
new York
Nevada
Oklahoma
Oregon
David Downs
David Downs heads Leafly.com’s news and lifestyle coverage as California Bureau Chief. He has written for WIRED, Rolling Stone and Billboard and is the former cannabis editor of the San Francisco Chronicle and author of several cannabis books, including “Marijuana Harvest” by Ed Rosenthal and David Downs. He is co-host of The Hash podcast. TW: @davidrdowns | IG @daviddowns
Show article by David Downs
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