The Cannabis Cup: From the Eyes of a First Timer

Apr 12, 2017
3 min read

High Times Magazine hosted their first Cannabis Cup of 2017 in Las Vegas the first weekend in March.

Las Vegas recently legalized medical marijuana, and vendors from all over the country came out to advertise their products and gain some new clientele.

This was my first time attending a Cannabis Cup and High Times event and I didn't know what to expect. I live in Georgia, which is an illegal state, so coming into an event that allowed cannabis without police shutting it down was a refreshing experience.

If you've never attended a Cannabis Cup, this blog is for you, and I will give my opinion and experience from start to finish.

The Cannabis Cup took place on Saturday and Sunday, and I only attended the event on Saturday. I wanted to go both days, but later found out that Sunday actually got cancelled due to heavy wind.

Since the event got cancelled, High Times gave away a free ticket for one day the the Southern California Cannabis Cup in San Bernardino that is taking place April 21- April 23rd. I thought that was pretty generous of them.

I also purchased a Shuttle Bus pass which I have some positive and negative feedback about. The bus definitely came in handy because the event was about 20-30 minutes away from the Las Vegas strip. The pass was only $20 opposed to an Uber which would've cost double the price due to the distance.

When I arrived, there wasn't a wait to enter, which was great, and I was able to walk right in.

Now, I suggest that you bring your own herbs, dabs, and oils. I couldn't because I flew into Vegas that morning. I did luck up and find a vendor selling pre-rolled blunts, thanks to Kong wraps, but other than that there wasn't any herbs for sale. I believe it was because of the small presence of law enforcement. High Times sent out a memo a few days before alerting attendees and asking that we follow legal guidelines to avoid run-ins with the law.

There was a lot of great art work, dance performances, and a large number of food trucks. RAW vendors were there along with a booth to get your medicinal license.

For a while, there was a vendor allowing attendees to come up and hit a dab. There was also a tent setup that allowed attendees who had their own dabs to smoke it and network with others. I didn't know that you needed to bring your own dab, but people were kind enough to let me hit theirs.

This brings me to my next point, the attendees. I traveled to this event alone, and as I previously states, I am from the south, so speaking and smiling to random people come naturally. I met nothing but kind people while I was there. Everybody was extremely chill, and any questions I had, most people had no problem answering them.

I guess it's hard to be rude under the influence of Cannabis, and everybody there just wanted to have a great time.

To my understanding, you were able to walk around and smoke your herbs and vapes. Unless informed other wise I believe that it's okay. There were law enforcement officers walking around, but everyone was pretty smart about consuming their cannabis in a discreet way.

My only negative experience about this event was trying to board the shuttle bus at end of the event, before the concert. There wasn't enough buses to get people back to the strip. I probably waited on the shuttle for about an hour, which wouldn't have been as bad if it hadn't got cold. I did however get some pretty cool pictures of the sunset over the Moapa Valley desert. I also had a pre-rolled left from earlier so it wasn't as bad.

I didn't get a chance to stay for the Ludacris and Chief Keef concert because of my flight leaving at 5 a.m that morning, but what I could tell from Twitter, I hate that I missed it.

Overall, I would recommend everybody to attend the Cannabis Cup, especially when it is held in a state that has legalized cannabis on recreational level.