“We want people to be detail-oriented; we want them to say, ‘I opened it up, I smelled lemony diesel aromas, bright green fluffy buds, orange hairs, went on a hike with my friend,’ you know, this and that. We don’t want people to say, ‘They smell good, got me high.’ That’s not helpful.”
- Mark Kazinec
Judging the High Times Cannabis Cup People’s Choice Edition is a rare opportunity to be directly involved in the outcome of the ultimate quest for the dankest, most flavor-packed flower strains and concentrates.
Each cannabis tournament has its respective perks, and there are many events to choose from. But the High Times Cannabis Cup, launched in Rotterdam, Holland in 1987 by longtime editor Steven Hager, is the OG competition.
It was the first major cannabis tournament to take place. Only a handful of seed companies entered the first Cannabis Cup in ’87, and about 30 people attended. Skunk #1 was the original winner, placing first and setting the stage for promoting and celebrating individual cannabis cultivars. It wasn’t until the event’s sixth year that attendance surpassed 800.
Over time, Cannabis Cup events have been held everywhere from Jamaica to Alaska. provides People’s Choice events that are judged using an entirely different structure and scheme. Instead of only allowing a select list of seasoned experts to evaluate the weed, the competition is open to all participants who pay to join in. No person is excluded from the pool of judges, regardless of their level of professional expertise.
