High Times Cannabis Cup 2013
Since its inception in 1987 the High Times Cannabis Cup has been held in Amsterdam until this year. On September 7 and 8 the 2013 Cannabis Cup was held in Seattle. The changing legal situation in America with respect to marijuana has led to the ability to hold the festival in America without fear of legal reprisal.
The High Times Cannabis Cup is both a quasi-religious festival devoted to the enjoyment of cannabis and a business convention centered on the commercial production and business of marijuana and related products. Marijuana and related cannabis products are discussed in both popular terms and scientific terms. As the medical uses of marijuana have grown in importance and understanding this aspect of marijuana has become a growing topic for the Cannabis Cup.
One of the highlights of the festival is the choice of winning products in a number of categories such as best sativa, best booth, or best cbd. The category of cbd refers to varieties developed for medical uses. There are thirteen categories of prizes. High Times maintains a website with a listing of all winners.
Cannabis products have a long history of use in religion. The high times cannabis cup festival does not have an overtly religious theme, but the spiritual component s obviously there. Rastafarianism, related to the Zion Coptic Church, is certainly present, as well as influences from India, Nepal, and Tibet. Many sources indicate that cannabis products played an important role in early and biblical Judaism. Indeed some sources assert that the term “a land flowing with milk and honey” is a reference to the abundance of marijuana in early Palestine.
The 2013 Cannabis Cup festival was certainly a joyous event and it can be assumed that many people present were in some form of spiritual contemplation enhanced by the use of cannabis products. How many were dressed in saffron as sadhus was not reported, but it can be assumed that at least some were. As would be expected at a marijuana festival, no violence was reported. Either any incidents that occurred were too minor to report, or everyone just plain forgot to mention it.
Over the next few years it is probable that this event will continue to be held n America and probably get larger and be better reported. Perhaps the government will actually pay attention to all the scientific studies dating back to the panama canal studies which were conducted over a period of years by the U.S. Military and including modern medical studies, particularly in Israel.
