The High Times Cannabis Cup is probably the most well-known marijuana celebration in the world, am I right? The very first Cup was held in Amsterdam in 1988 – but it didn’t become widely known and popular until many years later.
What was once an event only available to those who could afford to travel became so popular that medical cannabis cups were created to suit those in the U.S. while still playing fair with state laws. As soon as recreational marijuana was legalized in Colorado the wheels were already turning – the medical cup in that state became a full-blown cannabis cup like the one held in Amsterdam (and in the end it turned out bigger).
Hosted for the past two years at the Denver Mart – a venue just outside of Denver. The event gained the attention of people all over the country and quickly became High Times premiere Cannabis Cup event held annually on 4/20.
The only major problem that came up in the past for the cup was the fact that Colorado state law does not permit the use of marijuana in a public place and samples cannot be given away by local vendors. These restrictions posed an issue with the 2015 event – and there were definitely setbacks expected this year I’m sure – but probably nothing like this.
Just last week Adams County rejected the event application for the High Times Cannabis Cup event.
But after a couple well-attended but legally contentious years at the Denver Mart, an expo center in unincorporated Adams County just outside of Denver, commissioners unanimously said no last week to the event’s 2016 permit. A number of law enforcement officials warned the commission that there were too many people sampling too many cannabis products openly at past Cups.
“From a safety perspective, I have serious concerns about this event and this venue,” Adams County Sheriff Michael McIntosh told the commission.
If the event had been approved, restrictions would have been much more heavily regulated than ever before – and the event would have been forced to cap tickets at 15,000 per day – about 20,000 less than visited the event each day last year.
The good news is, High Times wasn’t about to let this ruin the ultimate 4/20 party – so they seem to have rushed around enough to find a last minute location change. The up and coming town of Pueblo Colorado is home to a place that has a thriving cannabis industry.
Currently, the event is listed on High Times official Cannabis Cup website as running April 16th-18th; but the initial application for the event specified the 16th – 20th. Is the new location going to be restricting the number of days for the event – or will the event be moving for a 4/20 location?
No matter what the future has instore for the cannabis cup it is good to see that they’ve at least got a location down finally.
