Plainsman1963

FLASHLIGHT
Over the ocean and through the smoke
12-03-04 | Maurice MacDonald | Anchorage Press

Amsterdam - Flashlight often lays awake at night thinking about how it would be if Marijuana were downright legal in Anchorage. Would the seller's market be limited to just a few select individuals who cultivate pot, put it in pretty packages and sell it through third-party vendors? Or would we have coffee shops all over Anchorage selling bud and hash like they do in Amsterdam?

We just had to know. So off we went to the 17th High Times Cannabis Cup, held in Amsterdam from November 21 to 25. The Cup is a competition where judges sample and vote on the best strains of cannabis currently being grown. And then there's the expo, a cornucopia of everything a pot grower could possibly want.

We arrived late and had just two days before the voting finished. Our mission was to taste 21 strains of pot and nine strains of hash in that time. Being experienced tasters, we started with what the smaller coffee shops had to offer, and saved the best - the big guys - for last. As you can imagine, at some point in the competition things got real hazy.

It was all great fun, although we're sorry to report that unlike previous Cups we've attended, this year's expo was held in a cramped, tacky warehouse across from the Cup's headquarters. The High Times folks told us it was due to lack of funding, but we think they should have gone all out anyway. After all, it's the most important event for Cannabis Cup attendees. All the best growers and seed companies in the world are there offering tips and new strains. One trip to the expo and you can fix whatever ails your closet-growing operation.

We're always amazed by all the new products introduced at the expo. Four years ago the sweet leaf grinder was introduced. Now anybody who is anybody in the pot world has one. This year's surprise was something called Nu-clear Concepts bong soap. It, really, really works. We just wish the electronic vaporizers would act like the DVD and CD players and come down in price. They get better every year, and are no doubt the only way to smoke bud and hash, but ****, $350 to $550 a machine? Next year, we're thinking of skipping the Cannabis Cup and taking a vaporizer with us to a factory in China and seeing if those guys could cut the price.

Anyway, we're glad to say that we still have enough brain cells left to report the winners: First place for the People's Cup Award went to “Arjan's Haze” from The Greenhouse Coffee Shop and Seed Company (22 percent THC). Second place went to “NYC Diesel” from De Dampkring. And third-place place went to “Cheese” from Homegrown Fantasy. “Amnesia Haze” won first in the Cannabis Cup Award. Second went to “Killer Green” (Flashlight's first choice) from Katsu, and third to “Jack Flash” from the Sensi Museum. The Cup for Best Imported Hash: “Caramella Cream” from Barney's. The Cup for Best Nederhash (hash made in the Netherlands): “Barney Rubble” from Barney's.
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