Ok, The 2009 Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam is coming up. It is always, the week of America's Thanksgiving, the last full week in November, starting on the Sunday before and ending on Thanksgiving Thursday. No, obviously the Dutch do not celebrate Thanksgiving, but if you really crave a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, you can find it at one of Amsterdam's GREAT restaurants. They have THANKSGIVING food specials for the Americans in town, HOW NICE! So, I LOVE the Cannabis Cup Event, hosted by High Times Magazine, it has a certain feeling, a euphoria, YOU can not find anywhere else, at any other time. So I will give you a REVIEW of the 2008 Event to get us all hyped and/or informed for the 2009 Event in Amsterdam. For the record, it is hosted in Amsterdam, Netherlands but it is attended by people worldwide. Seeing Americans, truly feeling free, embracing the truth that they are a customer not a criminal is GREAT! From your landscaper, to your farmer, to your nurse, your doctor, your lawyer, your student, your old, your young, they are ALL their! With 200+ Coffeeshops in Amsterdam that serve Cannabis and/or Hashish, plus the event hall itself at the Power Zone, which is filled with vendors, musical events, learning seminars and more. The 5 day event for Cannabis Cup Judges(6 days if you count the Friday party at 4:20pm at the Herb Winners Coffeeshop) is a TRUE non-stop party. With FREE shuttles, FREE Canal rides, FREE Samples and/or Products, FREE Breakfast and/or Snacks, Free Van Rides(with tables and you can smoke in) to the Expo and Coffeeshops, it is a REAL treat to be a JUDGE. Anyone CAN BE a regular judge and receive everything I just mentioned above. All you have to do is buy your Judges Pass from High Times. The earlier the better and it costs more at the door for sure. The FULL Regular Judge pass is about $200.00 to $250.00 ahead of time and I believe 250 Euro at the door. So here is the COFFEESHOP INFO of who entered from last year. Out of 200+ Coffeeshops, 24 entered, but Abraxas Coffeeshop dropped out at the last minute and the total was 23 Coffeeshops. In 2008 GreenHouse and Barney's both gave FREE samples and GreenHouse had a FREE FULL English Breakfast(sausage, bacon, beans, eggs, toast, orange juice, and coffee) for Judges each morning of the Cup! Here is the list of 2008 Competing Coffeeshops for the Cannabis Cup:

1. BOEREJONGENS
2. The DOLPHINS
3. HAPPY FEELING
4. DE ROKERJI
5. ROOKIES
6. The NOON
7. KATSU
8. MELLOW YELLOW
9. The BUSHDOCTOR
10. The BLUEBIRD
11. GREENPLACE
12. RUSLAND
13. DE TWEEDE KAMER
14. SOFTLAND
15. GREY AREA
16. AMNESIA
17. HOMEGROWN FANTASY GALLERY
18. BETTY BOOP
19. 420 CAFE
20. RESIN
21. DE DAMPKRING
22. GREENHOUSE
23. BARNEY'S

Beyond the actual judging of the strains, the actual expo during the day with vendors, booths, music and seminars, there is musical events and/or parties at night. In 2008, the opening day was the Sunday, the 23rd of November. There was the opening ceremonies at the Power Zone with the High TImes crew and the Cannabis Cup band.

The Monday, the 24th, the expo was open from 12pm-8pm, with DVD screening, Roger Steffens speech on Peter Tosh(2008 Cannabis Cup Inductee), a 4:20 show with the Cannabis Cup band, and a seminar with Soma. That night there was 4 events: at 9pm you could choose to see the WORLD PREMIER of GreenHouse's "Strain Hunters" show/documentary or see Leon & the Cannabis Cup band. At 10pm there was the GreenHouse party with Ky-Mani Marley and his band, Great SHOW!, and at midnight they had Rocker T, Bushman, and the Cannabis Cup band perform. Nice!

The Tuesday, the 25th, the expo had: a 2pm Miss High Times DVD screening, a 3pm Roger Steffens on Bob Marley speech, the 4:20pm show with the Cannabis Cup band, and a 7pm Cultivation seminar with Arjan, the King of Cannabis, from GreenHouse seeds. Good DAY! Then starting at 9pm, DNA Genetics hosted the 3rd Annual Hotboxxx Party with Dilated Peoples and DJ Babu at Club More Amor. There was also a choice to see The Real McKenzies at the Melkweg for 9pm. By the looks of the DNA party, WOW! I don't know if anyone was at the Melkweg, but maybe!

On Wednesday, the 26th, expo as usual opened at 12pm and had a 2pm screening of the 20th Cannabis Cup DVD, a 3pm speech with Roger Steffens on Peter Tosh, the 4:20pm Cannabis Cup band show, and a 7pm Cultivation seminar with Brett of Apothecary seeds. Very Interesting Day! Then for the night's festivities, Barney's held their party with Steel Pulse! This was packed to the rim! I never made it past the back, it was really crowded and I just vibed and smoked! Rasta!

On Thursday, the 27th, the Power Zone is still filled with judges voting on who their favorite and best strain is, so the expo's first event was not until 6pm with the History of the Cup video, then at 7pm the Awards show. GreenHouse Seeds/Coffeeshop won for BEST HERB with their: SUPER SILVER LEMON HAZE. She(It) was Tasty, Crystally, and Nice! I must say, I was pleased with their performance this year, but I won't say who I voted for in 2008. Ask me in person! That evening there was a 9pm party at the Melkweg with Andrew Tosh, CenC Wailer, Bushman, and the Cannabis Cup band. Then at midnight a Blue Note Trip Party. WOW! Plus Barney's was open 24 hours every night of the Cannabis Cup 2008. This was an INCREDIBLE EVENT, OVERALL. A GREAT JOURNEY and ADVENTURE!

Oh Yeah...on Friday, the 28th, there was a 4:20pm ceremony and a party at GreenHouse because they were the winning herb strain in 2008 picked by the judges. This usually happens every year, where the winner has a big party, giving out all types of herb hits and such! 4:20 and hope to see you in 2009 at the Cannabis Cup! If you see me, Come up and say HI! 

One Love and Respect, Always; Christopher Amsterdam