Chances are that you already know about the HIGH TIMES Cannabis Cup, the major cannabis festival that takes place on the week of the last Thursday in November in - where else? - Amsterdam, hailed as one of the cannabis capitals of the world. Cannabis afficionadoes from around the world travel here to sample, and - with the requisite pass - vote on their favorite cannabis strains, products and services, and the results are widely considered to set the industry standard for phenomenal weed, hash and other products.
The awards
Beside the "Cannabis Cup" itself - the top prize for which the event is named - a number of other prizes are also handed out: these have varied over time, but have remained relatively stable in recent years. The awards are currently as follows:
The Cup also announces a new inductee into the Counterculture Hall of Fame to honor his or her contribution to cannabis culture.
Exposition
The core of the Cannabis Cup is the expo, whose location varies by year; in 2011, it was held at Borchland, a sport center not far from the Amsterdam ArenA (which local soccer club Ajax calls home). Vendors line the exposition center with their booths, which vary in appearance from no-frills professional to radically over-the-top; many, but not all booths offer free weed samples. Speeches, demonstrations and performances are held periodically, both at the individual booths and at the central podium; 4:20 p.m. usually marks a special moment in the course of the day's activities, a time that took on a spiritual import in the cannabis subculture of 1960s California that is now shared by many other cannabis enthusiasts. (The number "420", as most stoners know, is the US penal code for marijuana possession.)
Around Town
The Cup's activities aren't confined to the expo, but are spread around town so that visitors can experience both the cultural and coffeeshop scene in Amsterdam. The Coffeeshop Crawl takes smokers on a self-paced tour of the best coffeeshops in town - no tourist traps on this route; a booklet for sale at the expo describes the special features of each stop on the proposed itinerary. The cream of the crop are also included in the Canna-bus route, a free shuttle service that lets participants sample Amsterdam's coffeeshop elite, such as multiple cup holders Green House United, Barney's, and De Dampkring. When the expo closes for the day, concerts usually step in to fill in any void in the schedule; line-ups are a mix of major international acts - such as Cypress Hill's B-Real, who performed in in 2011 - and niche favorites.
Travel Tips for the Cannabis Cup
Late November isn't a particularly busy period for Amsterdam tourism, but cannabis-related attractions and activities may experience a peak. Expect coffeeshops to be more crowded than usual, and you may want to act fast to secure a room at a cannabis-themed or toker-friendly hotel, such as the Hemp Hotel.
For dates, ticket information and other details about the next event, see the Cannabis Cup web site.
The awards
Beside the "Cannabis Cup" itself - the top prize for which the event is named - a number of other prizes are also handed out: these have varied over time, but have remained relatively stable in recent years. The awards are currently as follows:
- Indica Cup and Sativa Cup - the favorite strains of Cannabis indica and Cannabis sativa, the two most widely consumed cannabis species, each of which impart a different "buzz".
- Neder Hash and Import Hash - the top-voted hash strains, from the Netherlands ("Neder Hash") and abroad; Neder Hash varieties tend to be more potent, while the imports - from places such as North Africa and South Asia - are more nuanced.
- Product Cup - the best from a wide variety of products, from vaporizers that deliver THC without the hazards of smoke, microscopes that help connoisseurs view the trichomes of the buds, and even films, such as the doubly-awarded Strainhunters DVD, which follows a crew on their mission to track down exotic cannabic strains.
- Best Booth - this self-explanatory award honors the best booth at the cannabis expo; what's less self-explanatory is how the presenters achieve it (such as, for example, the hot air balloon that hovered over the Green House booth in 2011).
- Glass Cup - Glass pipes and other products contend for this title, with competitors from the small and sleek to the outlandish.
The Cup also announces a new inductee into the Counterculture Hall of Fame to honor his or her contribution to cannabis culture.
Exposition
The core of the Cannabis Cup is the expo, whose location varies by year; in 2011, it was held at Borchland, a sport center not far from the Amsterdam ArenA (which local soccer club Ajax calls home). Vendors line the exposition center with their booths, which vary in appearance from no-frills professional to radically over-the-top; many, but not all booths offer free weed samples. Speeches, demonstrations and performances are held periodically, both at the individual booths and at the central podium; 4:20 p.m. usually marks a special moment in the course of the day's activities, a time that took on a spiritual import in the cannabis subculture of 1960s California that is now shared by many other cannabis enthusiasts. (The number "420", as most stoners know, is the US penal code for marijuana possession.)
Around Town
The Cup's activities aren't confined to the expo, but are spread around town so that visitors can experience both the cultural and coffeeshop scene in Amsterdam. The Coffeeshop Crawl takes smokers on a self-paced tour of the best coffeeshops in town - no tourist traps on this route; a booklet for sale at the expo describes the special features of each stop on the proposed itinerary. The cream of the crop are also included in the Canna-bus route, a free shuttle service that lets participants sample Amsterdam's coffeeshop elite, such as multiple cup holders Green House United, Barney's, and De Dampkring. When the expo closes for the day, concerts usually step in to fill in any void in the schedule; line-ups are a mix of major international acts - such as Cypress Hill's B-Real, who performed in in 2011 - and niche favorites.
Travel Tips for the Cannabis Cup
Late November isn't a particularly busy period for Amsterdam tourism, but cannabis-related attractions and activities may experience a peak. Expect coffeeshops to be more crowded than usual, and you may want to act fast to secure a room at a cannabis-themed or toker-friendly hotel, such as the Hemp Hotel.
For dates, ticket information and other details about the next event, see the Cannabis Cup web site.