"To Infinity and Beyond," My Smoke Report of the 20th Annual Cannabis Cup (2007)

[kief thief]

For those of us who cannot make The CUP Can you explain where we can find CUP quality weed during the summer. I don't we manufactured anymore and if I'm making the pilgrimage I want the experience to include memorable marijuana.

[AK Infinity]

Originally Posted by kief thief

For those of us who cannot make The CUP Can you explain where we can find CUP quality weed during the summer. I don't we manufactured anymore and if I'm making the pilgrimage I want the experience to include memorable marijuana.

There are so many Coffeeshops in Amersterdam that I would reccomend talking to the locals and finding out where they like to go to. The hash is always good so keep that in mind when you're looking at a menu. I'll list the shops and weed that I liked in a later post.

[kief thief]

You're my hero

[AK Infinity]

What I could never understand about the events at the Expo is why the organizers had guests and judges standing around for long periods of time between events. Just when a speaker would be getting into his or her message they would cut them off so we could all sit around and stare at each other and get even higher than we already were. Anyway... It was what it was but without further ado I give you Arjan Roskom:

The "King" of Cannabis (?)

We were all standing or sitting around when Arjan ran onto the stage to a flood of flashing cameras and cell phones. He definitely wasn't lacking in confidence as swaggered across the stage like a rooster that owned the day. He immediately started talking about Dutch law and growers, but then he also addressed an issue that had been really nagging me, the weed in the Coffeeshops. He summed it up by saying that the Dutch in general didn't understand about growing weed, now you have understand he saying all this with a rather thick accent so I'm listening intently. By the time he'd finished ripping his fellow Dutch growers I found myself saying, "exactly" rather loudly, he heard it and looked curiously in my direction.

Oops...

It wasn't just me, and he had just confirmed in the most derisive of ways, by slamming the Dutch growing scene. I'd come to Amsterdam with one set of expectations but found myself with an altogether different reality. What made it even worse is that I didn't know if I would have the courage to write about any of that, turns out I did. The thing is, you always gotta be ready for disappointment, that's just how life is. Was I disappointed by a lot of things that happened at the Cannabis Cup, sure, but my response to that situation is to come up with ideas for a better event, one with integrity and true love for the sacred plant.

He went on to give a rather dull and uninformative lecture on basic growing, but right when I was about to fall asleep standing up, one of his boys comes out with a box and starts chucking Super Silver Haze joints all over the place. I copped two right away. If it weren't for those joints I would've fallen asleep and missed the rest of the ego fest. I asked him several grow questions which he answered but didn't enlighten. By the end of it I felt like I got a mixed bag, but the feeling of vindication was enough I guess.

With that I left the Power Zone and hit more Coffeeshops.

[TheColonel]

Hey bud

Thanks for taking the time to enlighten GC with your unique perspective.

Looks like a good time, in spite of the shwagginess.

If you make it out to the IC tokers bowl, i think you'll find what you're lookin for.

have a safe trip home.

[lizardking]

so the weeds a dissapointment, thats no big i guess cus the open environment will probably make up for subpar quality for me, hopefully, but ive heard hash is everywhere in europe. how is it in amsterdam? ive never even smoked hash so if i made a trip to amsterdam itd be for the city and the hash probs. There better cities for that sorta trip? Also you think id be straight with like 1500-2000 for the trip, (hotel, weed, hash, plane tickets, food) thanks. I really wanna go for spring break haha mexico is too overdone

edit: oh and +rep this entire thread was a good read, and thanks for that book i'm gonna pick that up on my way back from class haha

[atticsmoker122]

OP are you a "transindentalist"?

sorry i know that cant be spelled right

[sambo5472]

So ak where's the tread about the shops u likes best
I'm going back to Amsterdam around Christmas, i've already been to the Greenhouse, Grasshopper, Kadinsky, and goa and i wanna do some new shops when i go back so what da u recommend.
U are right about the quality, in most off the shops the "normal" priced weeds are not as good or merley as good as the stuff i can buy here for a better price. The stuff off the greenhouse was very dank though.

[AK Infinity]

Originally Posted by TheColonel

Hey bud

Thanks for taking the time to enlighten GC with your unique perspective.

Looks like a good time, in spite of the shwagginess.

If you make it out to the IC tokers bowl, i think you'll find what you're lookin for.

have a safe trip home.

Yeah, the IC Toker's Bowl is what I probably need to attend if I'm seeking a true connoisseur environment. Anyway... Colonel, where the hell have you been bro? Have you been a silent witness all this time? We need your postings!

Good to see that you're still around.

Originally Posted by lizardking

so the weeds a dissapointment, thats no big i guess cus the open environment will probably make up for subpar quality for me, hopefully, but ive heard hash is everywhere in europe. how is it in amsterdam? ive never even smoked hash so if i made a trip to amsterdam itd be for the city and the hash probs. There better cities for that sorta trip? Also you think id be straight with like 1500-2000 for the trip, (hotel, weed, hash, plane tickets, food) thanks. I really wanna go for spring break haha mexico is too overdone

edit: oh and +rep this entire thread was a good read, and thanks for that book i'm gonna pick that up on my way back from class haha

The hashish in the Dam is amazing you can't go wrong, unless you smoke too much. One thing that Americans should also keep in mind when traveling not just to Amsterdam but Europe in general is that it's expensive bro, but if you aren't skittish about what sort of accommodations you stay at you could drastically reduce the amount of money you spend there. Try doing some research on this, and here a good place to begin: Lonely Planet

Originally Posted by atticsmoker122

OP are you a "transindentalist"?

sorry i know that cant be spelled right

Ummm were you thinking Transcendentalist i.e. Transcendentalism or maybe Transcendental Meditation perhaps? And the answer to your question is no, I'm not, I'm a Cannadentalist. Kidding, the answer is no to all.

Originally Posted by sambo5472

So ak where's the tread about the shops u likes best
I'm going back to Amsterdam around Christmas, i've already been to the Greenhouse, Grasshopper, Kadinsky, and goa and i wanna do some new shops when i go back so what da u recommend.
U are right about the quality, in most off the shops the "normal" priced weeds are not as good or merley as good as the stuff i can buy here for a better price. The stuff off the greenhouse was very dank though.

Dude I'm almost there let my story unfold and all will be revealed. [Sinster sound effects and spooky laughter erupts. ]

Stay green.

[AK Infinity]

[And from the Nexus the angels did sing praises to the true Cannabis King.]

Going...

Going...

Going...

Chong!

[Hold up a sec while I exhale from this here joint - Blooooooows Ouuuut.]

I trickled into the Power Zone the next day with the usual accoutrements of weed, hashish, and a very stony disposition. Tommy Chong was scheduled to appear on stage at 4:20 PM. The crowd was a lot bigger that night and it's no wonder as he is a counterculture icon. I squeezed through the throng and moved closer to the front of the stage looking for a nice spot to view everything. As I moved through the crowd I took a moment to look at my fellow judges and spectators. We were all so beautiful and stoned, the smoke was swirling around the room like eddys in the backwater of a brook.

Suddenly the overhead lights dimmed and our cameras started flashing at celluloid gods with all the intensity of the paparazzi, and out walked Tommy Chong. He looked as cool as I though he would, with his gray hair and wrinkled skin. Now here was a stoner that has kept it real throughout his career. Whereas "Cheech" Marin has done everything possible to distance himself from his roots, Chong has been the mainstay and long rebel holdout.

He put his hand to his head and said in a shaky voice, "Ya know, this is what it's all about..." A couple more seconds passed and Tommy was stumbling over his words trying to remember what he was going to say. Fuck, he was so budded that he probably didn't even remember his name. The crowd erupted in laughter. It was a true stoner moment and I was proud to be there when it happened. After he finished his words, his reward was a foot long blunt which had him coughing his lungs out.

Thanks Tommy...

[c20h25n3oIsGood]

That sounds like a lot of fun, man. I really do enjoy this thread a lot, dude.

[AK Infinity]

[As the smoke rises...]

Me and a joint of White Widow.

My days and nights in Amsterdam so far had exceeded all of my expectations, while the Cannabis Cup had been largely a disappointment. My mind drifted toward my journey but instead of the incessant questions I'd initially had, now I had a ready set of answers that had been formed the day before at the Power Zone watching Tommy Chong. I'd made the journey because it was time and marijuana had absolutely nothing to do with it. It's vitally important sometimes that we question our lives and where they're at, and if we see that there's room to grow or boundaries that need to be tested, test them, don't be one of those people that's highly praised for your abilities but manages to do nothing with them. The world has very little pity for those that hide in the ordinariness of their daily lives. Seize the fucking day, hold onto it with all your might, and live it furiously for as long as you can.

"Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."

~Harold Whitman~

[bandit420]

I totally agree with your statement about people needing to test the boundaries of their lives. Last summer, I was stuck, in a rut, if you will, and I needed change. It is easy to keep living your life in the same way because it is safe, and it is what you know. But once you take that extra step into the unknown, you can realize exactly how much you needed to grow, and exactly how much you have grown just by taking that one little step.

When do we get the next installment??

The people want more!...Or at least I do.

[AK Infinity]

I preyed myself from out in front of the telly and made my way back to the Power Zone, where Jorge Cervantes was scheduled to talk about his new grow DVD. I like Jorge a lot, I learned many of my basic skills from his book "Indoor Marijuana Horticulture (The Indoor Bible)." I can still vividly recall getting his book in the mail and ripping open the box immediately. My world was forever changed on that day because I'd taken the first major step to becoming a grower. The essence of that moment was rising in my chest like how anticipation does just before fulfillment.

I was hoping that Jorge would be a bit more comprehensive about his cultivation topics than Arjan had been, but what Cup organizers had already put out there sucked so I wasn't holding my breath.

This a Guru on drugs...

Any questions?

The crowd had begun to swell again and I was toasted as a tribe of tasty tater tots toasting in a toaster oven. [The joint of White Widow that I'd smoked several hours earlier wasn't through doing something to me so to make things a little better I walked over to the bar and ordered a Heineken. ] The lights began to dim and Jorge walked out onto the stage with his trademark dreds and black cap. Everyone clapped and cheered because the Guru had arrived.

After a quick hello he immediately dove into a slideshow of various grows around Spain. I'm a huge fan of marijuana as some of you might know but I could really care a less about photos. A bud in the hand is worth a trillion times more than any bud in a picture. He spent nearly forty-five minutes talking about his friends that grew around Spain. All nice and beautiful plants but there was no knowledge in any of it. That seems to be a theme over at High Times, they have more flash than substance. Their magazines are filled with glossy pictures of succulent buds and a small smattering of grow information. [Note: Jorge was obviously blown out of his fucking mind because at times he would ramble. I get that at the Cannabis Cup we're supposed to be smoking a lot of weed, but when you smoke so much that you become incoherent, that's just ridiculous. We all paid good money for a full experience and by that point I felt seriously ripped off and greatly disappointed. I really thought he'd have some insights on gardening but he didn't, nothing, nada, zilch, zero. I could have stayed home and just bought his DVD if I wanted to look at someone else's garden pics, pathetic.]

By the time Jorge had finished and the lights had come up again, it was hard to hide my feeling of disappointment. He reminded Cup attendees that his DVD could be purchased at the Power Zone but by that point I was making my way out of the Club to a shuttle. I wanted to get back to my hotel to try out some hashish I'd bought at another shop earlier that day, as the shuttle lurched and rocked along the roads the lights of the city provided a soothing distraction. I pulled out my spoon while the silhouettes of neon and crazy streetlights traced across the glass and I loaded it with G-13 Haze. I was officially through with the Cannabis Cup as an event. Though I would venture back to the Power Zone--"to vote"--I'd mentally removed myself from their remaining events and disappeared into the night.

I was still in Amsterdam and that's all that mattered.