Chelsea Hopkins The Greener Side (OR) writes
It has been over 40 years since Oregon became the first state to decriminalize cannabis, and now in 2016 it is the first state to display live cannabis plants at the Oregon State Fair starting August 26th. The featured cannabis plants are the winners from the first Oregon Cannabis Growers Fair, held two weeks prior to the state fair. The exhibit will be open to adults 21 and older and features the winning plants displayed in a translucent tent.
Held on August 13th and 14th, Oregon Cannabis Growers Fair featured three judging categories: indica, sativa and hybrid. Plants were judge on color, nodes, structure, smell and overall health. The judge of the competition was the legendary ganja guru and author, Ed Rosenthal. Over 50 growers brought their finest vegetative cannabis plants to compete for the blue ribbon and a chance to showcase their great work at the state fair.
The event served not only as a place to showcase the quality craft cannabis plants from all parts of Oregon, but also as a platform for open communication with the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) and other regulatory state agencies, as well as other industry businesses and attendees.
Over forty exhibitors lined the hall as hundreds of attendees basked in the excitement of this first-of-its-kind event. The wide range of business types exhibiting gave attendees an idea of just how prolific the cannabis industry has become in Oregon. Even larger household name corporations are showing up to these events–harbingers of this industry’s future.
The awards were bestowed to each grower and farm from the man who taught America how to grow cannabis, Ed Rosenthal. Uplifted Farms took home first in the sativa and indica category, while Canna Manna took it home for the hybrid category. In second, Far Fetched Farms took the sativa, Synergy Farms for the indica, and Royal Ambrosia for the hybrid. In third, WAH Farms for the sativa, Sky High Farms for the indica, and AHSG Farms for the hybrid. These talented farms’ plants will be available for viewing to any adult 21 and over at the 2016 Oregon State Fair
The Oregon State fair brings together masses from all over Oregon. For the first time in history, the public will have the opportunity to see a cannabis plant for their first time. Anthony Taylor, president and co-founder of Compassionate Oregon is “extremely excited to witness tens of thousands of people getting to look at the plant that is responsible for numerous medicinal benefits and is revolutionary”. Taylor has helped shape cannabis reform in Oregon for over twenty years and has certainly seen a revolution state-wide.
Oregon legalized cannabis in 2014 with Measure 91, and is quickly earning the benefits of its industry. With legalization, normalization follows, and what better to normalize a plant than to show the public that in its essence is literally just a plant.
