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I spend the next 12 hours zig-zagging across the city, smoking the likes of NYC Diesel , Cinderella 99 , Thaitanic , White Widow , and Knockout . Because there are so many entries, most judges take meticulous notes, which is a valuable resource when it comes time to vote. Some judges organize their comments on Palm Pilots and take digital photos of each entry. I begin the competition jotting my observations in a tattered college-ruled notebook. By the second day, the notebook is destroyed (bong-water mishap) and I'm scribbling remarks on cocktail napkins and falafel receipts. By the fourth day, I will be scratching cryptic comments on my jeans: White Smurf good. My tongue feels fuzzy. And I am the chicken man.
To the coffee shops, the Cannabis Cup is a serious event with far-reaching financial implications. The winner is assured a substantial boost in tourist business, along with bragging rights for the next year, and the privilege to display the revered Cannabis Cup trophy. With so much at stake, many of the larger coffeehouses have taken to "lobbying" the judges (read: bribing) by offering free T-shirts, hats, lighters, pipes, and of course generous servings of their finest marijuana in hopes of swaying voters. One night in our hostel bar, I ask a woman named Tammy, a dental hygienist from Poughkeepsie, New York, which entry she likes the best. "I don't know," she replies, "but Barney's had the best free shit."
That evening I head over to The Melkweg, a popular club that is hosting the late-night Cannabis Cup activities. The Melkweg features an impressive roster of musical acts throughout the week, including a performance that night by George Clinton and P-Funk. As I work my way to the bar, I sense a palpable excitement sweeping through the glassy-eyed crowd. Actor and hemp crusader Woody Harrelson has been spotted at a nearby noodle shop, and it's rumored that he might drop in for P-Funk's set. (To a devout pothead, the notion of hanging out with Woody Harrelson at the world's most renowned marijuana festival is akin to chilling with David Lee Roth in the Champagne Room of a Vegas titty bar.)
George Clinton delivers a predictably unintelligible set. In between songs, he urges the crowd to smoke pot but avoid hard drugs: "Smoke the dope but not the coke!" (Clinton will be arrested in Florida nine days later for allegedly smoking crack.) At midnight, a Pink Floyd cover band called the Machine plays Dark Side of the Moon synched-up with The Wizard of Oz on a giant video screen. The band is decent, but the synchronicity concept is tired and after a few minutes the room clears.