- Title: NETHERLANDS: Coffeeshops compete in the 18th annual Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam
- Date: 25th November 2005
- Summary: SCU: (SOUNDBITE) (English) STEVEN HAGER, FOUNDER OF CANNABIS CUP, SAYING: "I met some Americans, who told me about harvest festivals that had been held in northern California in 1970's and gave me the idea why don't we have a global marijuana harvest festival in Amsterdam, legally, so we can establish world wide standard for cannabis."
- Embargoed: 10th December 2005 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Netherlands
- Country: Netherlands
- Topics: Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
- Reuters ID: LVA2P9NR7YNYS3EFQHQZRNNDJRZY
- Story Text: The 18th annual Cannabis Cup took place from November 20-24, in the city where this weed is entirely legal: Amsterdam. The founder of Cannabis Cup, Steven Hager explained on Thursday (November 24) how it all started. "I met some Americans, who told me about harvest festivals that had been held in northern California in 1970's and gave me the idea why don't we have a global marijuana harvest festival in Amsterdam, legally, so we can establish world wide standard for cannabis," he told Reuters. The actual judging and voting has five main categories (Hashish, Dutch hashish, Sativa, Indica and Cannabis Cup). Coffeeshop Barney's won both Hash Cup with Caramella Cream and Cannabis Cup with Willie Nelson. Full list of winners is available on www.cannabiscup.com Coffeeshops compete with their best hash or weed types, supplying Judges with unlimited stocks to taste and vote. Anyone can become a judge, providing a payment of 200 euros which gives every judge a free access to all products in competition. Judges don't even have to vote, but of course, they do, however stoned they are by the end of an each of four days. So, it's not really about the best winner, but more about smoking it all. Cannabis Cup Expo brings every year new products which facilitate or alter the use of marijuana, but are sold legally via internet, since they don't contain marijuana itself - buyers have to provide their own pot - such as Cannabrex Pills. Inventor Peter Horowitz explained how it works. "You can use Cannabrex kit to make your own capsules at home so if you want to decrease the amount of smoking in your lungs, but you don't want to decrease the amount of THC you use in an efficient and easy manner, that's why Cannabrex exist," he told Reuters. But, this year's Product Award has gone Vapzilla - a huge vaporizator Eddy was trying to inhale, while Lina's Bubblator won the second prize. Bubblator, an invention by Lina, an unofficial queen of Cannabis, is actually a washing machine which transforms marijuana leaves into hashish in 8-minutes time. Although Lina is Dutch, it is hard to see local people on Cannabis Cup. Most of the visitors come straight from the U.S., just to enjoy a week of free smoke. Steven Hager, the founder of Cannabis Cup is American, so is most of Expo participants and most of Judges. On the other hand, all coffeeshops in competition are Dutch, since they are the only (legal) ones in the whole world. Cannabis Legend Soma got the biggest applause as he won his first Cannabis Cup after 12 years of attending it - as Coffeeshop Barney's produced a new type of cannabis called after Soma's real name: Willie Nelson and won the Cannabis Cup! "This plant can help this planet and humanity so much, that the last thing it is, is a crime," he said about the weed.
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