Live from Amsterdam: Our pot critic’s view of ‘scattered’ Cannabis Cup scene

As editor of The Cannabist, I wake up every day with Twitter.

When I woke up this morning at 9 a.m. MST, it was 5 p.m. Sunday in the Netherlands, where the first day of the Cannabis Cup was taking place. I’m curious about all things Cannabis Cup — especially since my colleague Jake Browne, one of our pot critics, is a judge at this year’s Cup — so I found the hashtag and started scrolling.

So imagine my surprise when I came across post after post about the mayor of Amsterdam essentially shutting down the Cannabis Cup. After a quick email to Jake and a trip to the coffeepot, I was exploring further.

Trouble in Amsterdam:
A special report from The Cannabist

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Not the best way to start out your Cup: Amsterdam Cannabis Cup‬ was shut down today for fear that “all participants would be arrested”

High Times’ cultivation editor speaks from Amsterdam: “It’s unfortunate that the land that once liberated cannabis has now taken a conservative approach to its use”

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Top 25 tweets: Amsterdam Cannabis Cup hits a snag. Now what do we do? Check out these 25 tweets for the global perspective

New rules for Amsterdam Cannabis Cup, after the shut-down: No dabs. No torches. No sharing weed. And others

Sure enough, the Cannabis Cup has hit a snag in so-called “pot-friendly” Amsterdam. Organizers are trying to figure out how to legally hold the Cup the way they wanted to — although that might now be impossible.

Organizers released some new rules saying there will be no dabbing and no sharing weed at the Cup this year. It’s strictly a BYOM event in 2014.

And then I heard back from Jake, who was wandering amid the central business district Sunday night to give us a sense of what the city felt like.

If I could describe it in one word: scattered Judges I met on Saturday are strewn around the city with everyone wondering “What’s next?”

The Cup seemed to be facing an uphill battle last night when sources at High Times lamented concessions made to city officials that included a ban on consumption, particularly solvent-based concentrates that are “essentially considered hard drugs” according to one staffer.

Barney’s and The Bulldog, two of the more popular “tourist trap” coffeeshops, didn’t see a dramatic increase in business as of 7 p.m. One manager (not permitted to speak on behalf of The Bulldog) noted they were consistently busy all day with people still looking for tickets, even after today’s events.

It sounds like not a lot is known as what was supposed to be the Amsterdam Cannabis Cup’s first day is coming to a close in the Netherlands. But keep an eye on The Cannabist for more news updates throughout Sunday and the rest of the week.