Wednesday, April 1, 2015

2015 Cannabis Cup in Denver

You must be 21+ or be a CO medical patient to enter the recreating (smoking) area.

The U.S. Cannabis Cup in Denver is back and is bigger than ever - with THREE DAYS of 700+ vendors, three levels of VIP experiences and travel experiences provided by CID Entertainment, world-class musical entertainment, our heralded Awards show and the biggest 4/20 party on the PLANET!

IMPORTANT: After two years of running concurrent cannabis competitions in Colorado, HIGH TIMES has decided to combine both both medical and recreational entries into a single competition - the U.S. Cannabis Cup.®

What do I need to enter?
You MUST have a valid ticket & a photo ID that shows you're over 18 years old. If you're under 21 years old, you MUST also show a Colorado state medical marijuana recommendation to enter the recreating area.

HIGH TIMES is also proud to present performances by international superstars SOJA, Nas, JBoog on 4/18 at the legendary Red Rocks; and Snoop Dogg, 2 Chainz and A$AP Rocky on 4/20 at Fiddler's Green!

HIGH TIMES will return to the Mile High City for our fifth event at the Denver Mart, open to adults 18+. Denver Mart is located at 451 East 58th Avenue, Denver, CO, 80216.

SEMINAR SCHEDULE

SATURDAY, APRIL 18
 2 p.m. – FORUM ROOM 1
Jorge Cervantes presents “The Cannabis Encyclopedia.”
The cultivation superstar presents his new book, which covers his travels to three continents researching cannabis cultivation and consumption.

2:30 p.m. – FORUM ROOM 3
Sponsored Seminar TBA

3 p.m. – PLAZA STAGE
Meet Bill Kreutzmann, the author of Deal—My Three Decades of Drumming, Dreams, and Drugs with the Grateful Dead. (The Grateful Dead will be inducted into the Counterculture Hall of Fame at the Cannabis Cup Awards ceremony on Sunday night.

4 p.m. – FORUM ROOM 3
A live presentation of Free Weed From Danny Danko featuring cultivation experts.
Danny Danko (host), HIGH TIMES Magazine
K, Trichome Technologies
Aaron, DNA Genetics
MzJill, TGA Seeds
Phillip Hague, Mindful
Dru West, West Coast Masters
Addison Demoura, Steep Hill Halent Labs

4:30 p.m. – FORUM ROOM 1
“The Future for American Legalization”
Rick Cusick (moderator) HIGH TIMES Magazine
Michael Kennedy, HIGH TIMES Magazine
Keith Stroup. NORML
Mason Tvert, MPP
Sean McAllister, Colorado cannabis industry attorney

5:30 p.m. – FORUM ROOM 3
Sponsored seminar TBA

6:30 PM Doors open at the legendary Red Rocks

7:30 PM Show starts SOJA, Nas and J Boog perform

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SUNDAY, APRIL 19

 1:30 p.m. – FORUM ROOM 1
"Nico Escondido presents “Growroom Illumination: A Discussion of Light, Nature and Technology.”

2 p.m. – FORUM ROOM 3
“Military Veterans and Cannabis”
Bobby Black (moderator), HIGH TIMES magazine
Kevin Richardson, Weed for Warriors Project
Dr. Darryl Hudson, Marijuana for Trauma Inc.
Steven Jacob Lull, The Green Union
Dakota Blue Serna, The Green Union
Michelle Tippens, Weed For Warriors Project
T.J. Thompson, Veterans for Medical Cannabis Access and Safe Access Virginia
Sean Azzariti, Marine Corps veteran

3 p.m. – FORUM ROOM  1
“Cannabusiness: How to Get a Top Pot Job”
Jen Bernstein (moderator), HIGH TIMES Magazine
Ricardo Baca, Denver Post
Ryan Cook, The Clinic
Brooke Gehring, Patient's Choice
Swerve, Cali Connection
Chloe Villano, Clover Leaf University

3:30 p.m. __ FORUM ROOM 3
Scott of Rare Dankness presents “Breeding Success”

4:30 p.m. – FORUM ROOM 1
Chef Payton Curry presents: “Cannabis Cooking: A Demonstration.”

5 p.m. – FORUM ROOM 3
Russ Belville presents: "Legalization: State of the Union,” a discussion of current and future changes in key U.S. states.

8 p.m.
The U.S. Cannabis Cup Awards ceremony on the Plaza Stage

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MONDAY, APRIL 20

 1:30 p.m. – FORUM ROOM 1
“The Emerging Edibles Industry”
Elise McDonough (moderator), HIGH TIMES Magazine
Jaime Lewis, Mountain Medicine

Julie Dooley, Julie’s Natural Edibles

Timothy McDowell, MarQaha

Kat Smiles, BadKat's CannaPharm

2 p.m. -  “The World of Cannabis Concentrates” – FORUM ROOM 3
Bobby Black (moderator)
Giddyup, Emotek Labs
K, Trichome Technologies
JJ, Fresh Off The Bud Extractions
Matt Van Benschoten, TC Labs & Extract Outfitters


3 p.m. – FORUM ROOM 1 - CNN presents “High Profits”

3:30 p.m. – FORUM ROOM 3
A live presentation of Free Weed From Danny Danko featuring cultivation experts
Danny Danko (host), HIGH TIMES Magazine
Adam Dunn, T.H.Seeds
David Bonvillain, Elite Cannabis
Kyle Kushman, Kushman Genetics
Mitch Shenassa, The Adam Dunn Show
Mark January, High Country Healing
Don, DNA Genetics

4:30 PM  Doors Open @ Snoop Dogg’s Wellness Retreat
5:30 PM  Show starts @ Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre

Congress quietly ends federal government's ban on medical marijuana

"Tucked deep inside the 1,603-page federal spending measure is a provision that effectively ends the federal government's prohibition on medical marijuana and signals a major shift in drug policy.
The bill's passage over the weekend marks the first time Congress has approved nationally significant legislation backed by legalization advocates. It brings almost to a close two decades of tension between the states and Washington over medical use of marijuana.

Under the provision, states where medical marijuana is legal would no longer need to worry about federal drug agents raiding retail operations. Agents would be prohibited from doing so.
The Obama administration has largely followed that rule since last year as a matter of policy. But the measure approved as part of the spending bill, which President Obama plans to sign this week, will codify it as a matter of law.

MMJ advocates had lobbied Congress to embrace the administration's policy, which they warned was vulnerable to revision under a less tolerant future administration.

More important, from the standpoint of activists, Congress' action marked the emergence of a new alliance in marijuana politics: Republicans are taking a prominent role in backing states' right to allow use of a drug the federal government still officially classifies as more dangerous than cocaine.
"This is a victory for so many," said the measure's coauthor, Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher of Costa Mesa. The measure's approval, he said, represents "the first time in decades that the federal government has curtailed its oppressive prohibition of marijuana."

By now, 32 states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana or its ingredients to treat ailments, a movement that began in the 1990s. Even back then, some states had been approving broader decriminalization measures for two decades.

The medical marijuana movement has picked up considerable momentum in recent years. The Drug Enforcement Administration, however, continues to place marijuana in the most dangerous category of narcotics, with no accepted medical use.

Congress for years had resisted calls to allow states to chart their own path on marijuana. The marijuana measure, which forbids the federal government from using any of its resources to impede state medical marijuana laws, was previously rejected half a dozen times. When Washington, D.C., voters approved medical marijuana in 1998, Congress used its authority over the city's affairs to block the law from taking effect for 11 years.

Even as Congress has shifted ground on medical marijuana, lawmakers remain uneasy about full legalization. A separate amendment to the spending package, tacked on at the behest of anti-marijuana crusader Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), will jeopardize the legalization of recreational marijuana in Washington, D.C., which voters approved last month.

Marijuana proponents nonetheless said they felt more confident than ever that Congress was drifting toward their point of view.

"The war on medical marijuana is over," said Bill Piper, a lobbyist with the Drug Policy Alliance, who called the move historic.

"Now the fight moves on to legalization of all marijuana," he said. "This is the strongest signal we have received from Congress [that] the politics have really shifted. ... Congress has been slow to catch up with the states and American people, but it is catching up."

The measure, which Rohrabacher championed with Rep. Sam Farr, a Democrat from Carmel, had the support of large numbers of Democrats for years. Enough Republicans joined them this year to put it over the top. When the House first passed the measure earlier this year, 49 Republicans voted aye.
Some Republicans are pivoting off their traditional anti-drug platform at a time when most voters live in states where medical marijuana is legal, in many cases as a result of ballot measures.

Polls show that while Republican voters are far less likely than the broader public to support outright legalization, they favor allowing marijuana for medical use by a commanding majority. Legalization also has great appeal to millennials, a demographic group with which Republicans are aggressively trying to make inroads.

Approval of the marijuana measure comes after the Obama administration directed federal prosecutors last year to stop enforcing drug laws that contradict state marijuana policies. Since then, federal raids of marijuana merchants and growers who are operating legally in their states have been limited to those accused of other violations, such as money laundering.

"The federal government should never get in between patients and their medicine," said Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland)."

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Twitter: @evanhalper