[AK Infinity]

I walked along the streets thinking about Halina and her words, perhaps I will never see her again but it was nice to abide in her light if but for a moment. The day of the gray skies was fading letting the artificial light of the neon guide my way. I felt a deep sadness wash over me as the realization that this was my last night in the Dam set in. Still, I'd come all this way to the Cannabis Cup, survived disillusion on so many levels to find myself with a greater understanding of the Dutch scene and that in itself was a pearl of great price. That's the thing I want to stress to you fellow blades, be strong of mind and resolve. If a situation doesn't unfold the way you thought, keep steady and examine it for what it does have instead of what you expected. Just the experience of being in Amsterdam can give you far more than any joint, space cake, or pile of hashish can. Be careful not to cast aside moments that you can learn from simply because they are--on the surface--unappealing.

I made my way to Homegrown Fantaseeds to check out their seed stock. I visited the store some days before but didn't have the time or coherence to dive into what a treasure trove of information lie there.

Homegrown Fantaseeds
Nieuwe Nieuwstraat 25 HS

Again, bear with me, for the purposes of this story I'll call the storekeeper Cobus. Cobus as I was to find, was a realist to the point of being self-deprecating. I questioned him about their seed catalogue and what he recommended, but somehow the Cannabis Cup came up in our conversation. He laughed and then proceed to tell me much of what I had already intuited myself from the experience, but he went a bit further than I thought he would, trying to stop himself along the way. He said that the Cup was a way to scam tourists out of their money--big surprise--and that some of the participants were somewhat greedy and amoral. Now before you go thinking maybe it's sour grapes, Homegrown Fantaseeds has won the Cup before, without inducements to the judges.

He covered the fact that bribery was common and for all practical purposes nullified any victory or prestige any winner would be lavished. I suggested that the Cup might be redeemed if such practices were stopped or if another event could be planned, he laughed, "Forget the Cannabis Cup, just come back with some friends when it's warm and visit the Coffeeshops, and that can be the Cup for you. That way you can sit outside in the sun or the park and enjoy yourselves. It's hard to plan events like this because so many people smoke a lot of dope and don't think straight. I don't even know how to get to the Power Zone anyway." Wow, I wasn't sure how to respond to that because it was simple and imminently practical at the same time. I asked him about Arjan of Greenhouse Seeds and laughed loudly again asking me, "Why is it that any woman that goes to work in his Coffeeshop quits after a short time?" "I have no idea," I answered. He clammed up after that instead letting the suggestion of what he was saying work its way through my imagination.

He didn't have to fill in the blanks because I got the impression immediately from meeting Arjan, that he was an arrogant asshole. It's true he's done a lot to further cannabis genetics but not because of the smoking community but more because he was and is trying to further himself. Cobus said his store could make a lot of money selling his seeds but that they refuse to do business with him and a few other seed breeders around town because they weren't scrupulous as some believe. I pressed him on this and he openly admitted that most of the genetics that could be located in Amsterdam and around the world were all good, that if the grower were studious that almost any seed could lead to bomb weed. In my mind he was basically telling me I could leave his store and go anywhere, that kind of honesty was disarming to say the least.

We spent the next few minutes talking about Mac Dre and the Bay Area rap scene before I decided it was time to leave the store. As I walked away from the counter with a nice seed purchase he asked, "Are you ever going to the Cannabis Cup again?" "Fuck no," I shouted back as I disappeared into the night."