High Times

Bring Me Your Love (1983)

Published

11 months ago

January 7, 2024

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Harry walked down the steps and into the garden. Many of the patients were out there. He had been told that his wife, Gloria, was out there. He saw her sitting alone at a table. He approached her obliquely, from the side and a bit from the rear. He circled the table and sat down across from her. Gloria sat very straight, she was very pale. She looked at him but didn’t see him. Then she saw him.

“Are you the conductor?” she asked.

“The conductor of what?”

“The conductor of verisimilitude?”

“No, I’m not.”

She was pale, her eyes were pale, pale brown.

“How do you feel, Gloria?”

It was an iron table, painted white, a table that would last for centuries. There was a small bowl of flowers in the center, wilted dead flowers hanging from sad, dangling stems.

“You are a whore-fucker, Harry. You fuck whores.”

“That’s not true, Gloria.”

“Do they suck you too? Do they suck your dick?”

“I was going to bring your mother, Gloria, but she was down with the flu.”

“That old bat is always down with something. Are you the conductor?”

The other patients sat down at the tables or up against the trees or they stretched out on the lawn. They were motionless and silent.

“How’s the food here, Gloria? Do you have any friends?”

“Bad. And no. Whore-fucker.”

“Do you want anything to read? What can I bring you to read?”

Gloria didn’t answer. Then she brought her right hand up, looked at it, curled it into a fist and punched herself in the nose, hard. Harry reached across and held both of her hands. “Gloria, please—”

She began to cry, “Why didn’t you bring me any chocolates?”

“Gloria, you told me you hated chocolates.”

Her tears rolled down profusely. “I don’t hate chocolates! I love chocolates!”

“Don’t cry, Gloria, please. I’ll bring you chocolates, anything you want. Listen, I’ve rented a motel room just a couple of blocks away, just to be near you—”

Her pale eyes widened. “A motel room? You’re in there with some fucking whore! You watch X-rated movies together, there’s a full-length mirror on the ceiling!”

“I’ll be right near you for a couple of days, Gloria, so I want to bring you everything you need—”

“Bring me your love, then,” she screamed. “Why the hell don’t you bring me your love?”

A few of the patients turned and looked.

“Gloria, I’m sure that there is nobody who cares for you more than I do.”

“You want to bring chocolates! Well, jam those chocolates up your ass!”

Harry took a card out of his wallet. It was from the motel. He handed it to her.

“I just want to give you this before I forget. Are you allowed to phone out? Just phone me if you need anything at all.”

Gloria didn’t answer. She took the card and folded it into a small square. Then she bent down, took off one of her shoes, put the card in the shoe and put the shoe back on.

Then Harry saw Dr. Jensen approaching from across the lawn. Dr. Jensen walked up smiling and saying, “Well, well, well…”

“Hello, Dr. Jensen,” Gloria spoke.

“May I sit down?” the doctor asked.

“Surely,” said Gloria.

The doctor was a heavy man, he reeked of weight and authority. His eyebrows looked thick and heavy, they were thick and heavy. They wanted to fall into his wet circular mouth and vanish but life wouldn’t let them.

The doctor looked at Gloria. The doctor looked at Harry. “Well, well, well,” he said, “I’m really pleased with the progress we’ve made—”

“Yes, Dr. Jensen, I was just telling Harry how much more stable I felt, how much the consultations and the group sessions have helped. I’ve lost so much of my unreasonable anger, useless frustrations and much of my destructive self-pity—”

The doctor smiled at Harry. “Gloria has made a remarkable recovery!”

“Yes,” Harry said, “I’ve just noticed.”

“I think it will only be a matter of a little more time, and then Gloria will be home with you again, Harry—”

“Doctor?” Gloria asked. “May I have a cigarette?”

“Why, of course,” the doctor said, pulling out a pack of exotic cigarettes and tapping one out. Gloria took it and the doctor extended his gold-plated lighter, flicked it to flame. Gloria got her light, inhaled, exhaled…

“You have beautiful hands, Dr. Jensen,” she said.

“Why, thank you, my dear—”

“And a mind that saves, a mind that cures—”

“Well, we do the best we can around the old place… Now, if you’ll both excuse me, I have to check out a few other patients.”

He got his bulk up from the chair and made toward a table where a woman was visiting a man.

Gloria stared at Harry. “That fat fuck eats nurses’ shit for lunch.”

“Gloria, it’s been good seeing you, but it was a long drive and I need some rest. And I think the doctor’s correct, I’ve noticed some progress.”

She laughed. But it wasn’t a joyful laugh, it was a stage laugh, like a part memorized. “I haven’t made any progress at all. In fact, I’ve retrograded… immensely.”

“That’s not true, Gloria—”

“I’m the patient, Fishhead. I can make a better diagnosis than anybody.”

“What’s this ‘Fishhead’?”

“Hasn’t anybody ever told you that you have a head like a fish?”

“No.”

“Next time you shave, take a look. And be careful not to cut your gills off.”

“I’m going to leave now, but I’ll visit you again, quite soon.”

“Next time bring the conductor.”

“You sure I can’t bring you something?”

“You’re just going to that motel room to fuck some whore.”

“Suppose I bring you a copy of New York? You used to like that magazine—”

“Jam New York up your ass, Fishhead! And follow it with Time!”

Harry reached across and squeezed the hand she had hit herself in the nose with. “Keep it together, you’re going to be well soon.”

Gloria gave no response. Harry got up, turned and walked toward the stairway. When he got halfway up the stairs he turned and gave Gloria a little wave. She sat, motionless.

_________________

They were in the dark, going good, when the phone rang.

Harry kept going but the phone kept going. It was very disturbing. Soon, his cock went down.

“Shit,” he said and rolled off. He switched on the lamp and picked up the phone.

“Hello?”

It was Gloria. “You were fucking some whore!”

“Gloria, do they let you phone this late? Don’t they give you a sleeping pill?”

“What took you so long in answering the phone?”

“Don’t you ever take a crap? I was in the middle of a good one, you got me in the middle of a good one.”

“I’ll bet I did. You going to finish after you get me off the phone?”

”Gloria, it’s your goddamned extreme paranoia that has gotten you where you are.”

“Fishhead, my paranoia is often the forerunner of an approaching truth—”

“Listen, get yourself some sleep. I’ll come see you tomorrow—”

“Okay, Fishhead, finish your fuck!”

Gloria hung up.

Nan was in her dressing gown, sitting on the edge of the bed with a whiskey and water on the night table. She lit a cigarette and crossed her legs.

“Well,” she asked, “how’s the little wifey?”

Harry poured a drink and sat down beside her.

“I’m sorry, Nan—”

“Sorry for what, for who? For her or me or what?”

Harry drained his shot of whiskey. “Let’s not make a goddamned soap opera out of this thing.”

“Oh, yeah? Well, what do you want to make out of it? A roll in the hay? You want to try to finish? Or would you rather go into the bathroom and beat it off?”

Harry looked at Nan. “Goddamn it, don’t get smart-ass! You knew my situation as well as I did. You were the one who wanted to come along!”

“That’s because I thought if you didn’t take me you’d bring some whore!”

“Oh, shit,” said Harry, “there’s that word again.”

”What word? What word?” Nan drained her glass, threw it against the wall.

Harry walked over, picked up her glass, filled it, handed it to Nan, then filled his own.

Nan looked down into her glass, took a hit, put it down on the nightstand. “I’m going to phone her, I’m going to tell her everything!”

“Like hell you will! That’s a sick woman!”

“And you’re a sick son of a bitch!”

Just then the phone rang again. It was in the center of the room where Harry had left it. They both leaped from the bed and charged toward the phone. On the third ring they both landed, each holding a piece of the receiver. They rolled, breathing heavily, all legs and arms and bodies in desperate juxtaposition, being reflected in the full-length overhead mirror.

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Adam Bierman

These Two Iconic Cannabis Companies Could Disappear

Published

7 months ago

May 1, 2024

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Both were high flying symbols of the promise of the legal cannabis industry. Both, at one point, led by an Adam and both made mainstream headlines. Now, as the cannabis world take another key step toward mainstreaming, these two iconic cannabis companies could disappear. Both High Times and Medmen went into receivership in the month of April.

As the cannabis industry enters a new era, both companies straddled the gulf between the weed wild wild west and today’s market-price/share-price focus. Early on, each became the darling of media attention and part of the general population’s conversation. Medmen’s antics saw them skewered on the hit show South Park. Both became regulars on Cheddar as industry thought leaders. High Times, the founder of the original cannabis cup, made high flying deals, did a controversial “non” public offering, and, in looks, expanded into dispensaries. Both are now in court waiting to see what happens to the companies and assets.

Medmen hit the market in 2010 with co-founder in Adam Bierman and Andrew Modlin. In 2018 MedMen West Hollywood was one of the first legal cannabis dispensaries to open in California. Hailed as the Apple Store of weed, their slick design captured the feel of the new wider market and set the pace for of retails wishing to attract an expanding mainstream consumer. From there came an expansion including an expensive sort of store on 5th Ave in New York City, greenhouse grows, a REIT, and lots of press. Things began changing when they went public with a reverse merger. Things took an ugly turn with a messy lawsuit with the outgoing CFO, the the Journal of the American Medical Association called them out for their marketing, and things went down hill quickly. On March 11, 2024, it was reported by several sources that Medmen had closed operations everywhere except for in San Diego and near LA International Airport. It was announced the company is $411 million in debt while awaiting the court’s decision about their future.

High Times was the leader of the marijuana movement, helping people learn, engage and get stoned. They taught people the value of medical marijuana and brought celebrities to the forefront of the movement. Then the 44-year-old magazine was sold to a group of investors led by Adam Levin and the Los Angeles-based Oreva Capital for $42 million. Rumor has it, the founder’s widow is still owed money from this deal. Levin claimed he could raise the value of the company to $100s of million of dollars, but followed was a messy, tangled trip leaving heartbroken investors behind. Multi rounds of funding with a variety of valuations, a semi-offering to the general public at $11 a share, cancelled cannabis cups, and a web of activities raised eyebrows. From a practical point of you, the site never really looked at the new legal market, they figured the newbies would immediately embrace the legacy culture. Instead, companies like Wana Brands appealed to them with gummies named Calm. The movement moved on and High Times tried to enter the dispensary market. Now all the assets sit with a receiver and the fate of the legendary leader is unknown.

These are the tails of a fast rising, consumer driven, mainstreaming industry.

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Anthus

Cannabis Is Still A Bro’s World

Published

9 months ago

February 26, 2024

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Despite the talk of equity – cannabis remains a bro world.

Barbie was a huge success raking in over $1.4+ billion worldwide and one of the biggest movies last year. It was a tale of women understanding and leading. But, it seems it wasn’t as big of hit in the cannabis or alcohol industries. Like alcohol, the marijuana industry is male dominated and has a bit of insider feel to it.

In 2020, it started becoming a regular business practice to diversify management, leadership and customer base, but the change has come slowly to marijuana. Why you have some stellar female leaders like Nancy Whiteman, the CEO of edibles giant Wana Brands and the top business publisher Debra Borchardt from Green Market Report, there aren’t not many others.

The world of alcohol is a boys’ club with only 24 percent of women and 4 percent of women of color held C-suite positions in the North American wine, beer and spirits industry. This is an industry which has boomed and been wicked profitable since the repeal of prohibition.

Marijuana is doing better than the alcohol industry, 2023 research from Headset market reports found women make up 33.8% of the U.S. market for cannabis. By design or default, the industry isn’t for women in the minds of the men who run which is an enormous miss of market potential.

The minority and LGBTQS+ community are represented even less. Part of the problem was a rush to immediately fix a problem. New York upended their recreational rollout and not only did it disenfranchise potential minority business owners, it fed a huge unlicensed market with over 1,500 dispensaries in New York City alone.

Money is part of the issue, and not just the money to be made. You have to have money, time and patience to be in the cannabis industry. With limited banking options, investors are key and, traditionally, woman and minorities don’t have the reach as men do in the “boys club”. Again New York is trying to quickly solve the problem, the 10-year loans it offers to dispensary owners are highly restrictive and potentially burdensome, giving licensees little control over building out their own locations, instead requiring them to foot a bill handed to them by the state. This could be a set up for failure.

It is also humorous to note some of the biggest scandals in the industry have been lead by male CEOs/Founders including Medmen, High Times, Skymint, and Green Growth Brands.

While there continues to be gains, it will be interesting how the industry involves after rescheduling and larger players in alcohol, tobacco, healthcare and retail entire the space.

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Arizona

All of 2023’s Cannabis Cup winners and where to buy them

Published

11 months ago

December 21, 2023

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Strap in, Leafly nation—this one is going to be a doozy. Everyone in cannabis, as in any other industry or field, wants to be the best—but how do you tell who is actually the best? Well, look at the awards. With tens of thousands of strains and products available in your area (we hope), how do you choose where to spend your hard-earned Benjamins? We can tell you that.

Cannabis competitions are back like they never left, and more state legalizations means higher bars to clear to call your stash fire. From the Bay to the Big Apple, and many detours in between, these are the buds that struck gold (and silver) at esteemed cannabis competitions and cups in 2023. Did we miss any? Let us know for 2024!

High as eagles balls: The Ego Clash barn and meadow from above. (David Downs/Leafly)

Golden State, gold standard. California, despite its market quirks, continues to set weed trends, and the world takes notes. This year was a particularly rich outing.

We begin (where else?) with the Emerald Cup. The Oscars of California weed and their expert judges have sampled thousands of flower entries over the years from cultivators looking for glory and recognition. With four commercial flower categories and 20 slots for each—that’s a lot of weed!

Blue Face. (Photo by Demetrius Daniels, courtesy of Fig Farms)

This year, Fig Farms won Best in Show and cinched the indoor flower crown with their Animal Face pheno, Blue Face. Double OG Chem #15 by Rebel Grown showed out for sungrown, and Ridgeline Farms proved their Runtz work is unparalleled with a mixed light LANTZ. Bubble Bath by Chameleon Craft won for greenhouse.

The California dispensary Greenwolf has been winning awards of their own for years, and now they dish them out. Their latest California Zalympix puts the golden taste of the Golden State in perspective. The Ten Co and Zushi teamed up with Blue Zushi to nab Best Overall, Best Taste, and second for Best Terps.

Another collaboration, Limitedtreesgenetics x Flavor Design, won Best Terps with Versace, and second overall. Maven Genetics’ French Laundry won Best Looking and Most Unique, with The Hydro Boys winning Heaviest Hitting with Blue Gotti Sapphire and Sour Power by Kush Company taking Gassiest. Alien Labs made the podium for Best Overall and Best Terps with a classic Zkittlez.

Now for some math. The California State Fair Cannabis Awards crunch the numbers across cannabinoids and terpenes. A number of last year’s winners returned to show out, along with some new contenders. Mercy Grown swept three Best of California awards with John Lemmon (THCa), and Pie Scream (Myrcene and Total Terpenes); Greenshock Farms’ Passion Orange Guava took Ocimene gold once again, while Esensia, MOCA Humboldt and Talking Trees Farm won with new offerings Maracuya (THCa), Caffeine (Limonene), and Rainbow Beltz (Caryophyllene), respectively. For something funky, check out Prism, the CBGa winner by Nimbus Cannabis.

Leafly contributor and one of the headiest journalists on the weed beat Jimi Devine keeps climbing with the latest Transbay Challenge V, which held four qualifier events before the ultimate competition in October. Hawaiian Snowcone by Moon Valley Cannabis, one of our SOTY alternatives, took the ultimate honors, with (again!) Maven Genetics’ French Laundry and Moonbeam by A Golden State rounded out the top three. Greendawg got an honorable mention for Candy Fumez.

Top Shelf Cultivation’s Whoa-Si-Whoa (Courtesy Top Shelf Cultivation)

The people of SoCal have spoken, and they have bougie tastes too. For the High Times People’s Choice Cup, we saw many familiar, and winning, faces. Fig Farms hit a double whammy for Best Indica Flower and Hybrid Flower with Blue Face and Animal Face, while Maven Genetics’s Orange Bellini reigning over the sativas.

Maven’s French Laundry appeared again in second place for hybrids, and A Golden State popped up again with Lava Flower. TopShelf Cultivation, Team Elite Genetics, and Seed Junky rounded out the flower categories with Peanut Butter Breath, Whoa Si Whoa, Styrofoam Cup, and Gello Shotz.

Last but not least, the 2023 Ego Clash saw Eddy’s Lemons by Anudai Farms (A New Day) take indoor flower gold, with Blue Lobster and Zkittlez not far behind. For outdoor, it was Lemon Cherry Gelato by Terp Mansion, followed by two other winning strains of 2023, LANTZ and Hawaiian Snowcone.

Denver’s Connoisseur Cup brings legacy and licensed operators together under OG scrutiny. The industry side showed loyalty to enduring favorites, including Super Lemon Haze (Super Farm), Gelato (DenRec), and Animal Face Mints (Meraki Brands), while pointing to newer classics like Top Fuel Cherries, Purple Monkey Face Slap, and Grape Cream 2.1. MAC, Zkittlez, and GG#4 also made it to the winners circle.

Golden Leaf’s Candy Fumez (Courtesy THC Classic)

Golden Leaf’s Lemonhead Delight (Courtesy THC Classic)

Rooster Magazine and Media’s THC Classic also scoured hundreds of entries to parse out the fire. Golden Leaf blew the competition away, winning with Lemonhead Delight, Black Maple #22, and Candy Fumez.

The ninth annual Oregon Growers Cup showcases one of the most pot-prolific state’s best greenery. They give laurels to sungrown, indoor, and greenhouse flowers, with a wide range of cultivars in the winners’ circles. For Outdoor, Alter Farms wins with Strawberry Fizz; Artisan Grown cinched Indoor with Candy Rain; Hash Burger grown by Cannassentials sweeps Greenhouse.

Trop Cherry. Sativa hybrid. (David Downs/Leafly)

The Oregon Leaf Bowl took it a step further with winners designated by terpene profile (Fuel/OG, Purps/Dessert, Exotic Fruit, Citrus, Open) within the three cultivation categories. For Sungrown, WM Ranch won for Fuel and Dessert with Trop Cherry and Ice Cream Cake; Left Coast Standard also doubled up wins in Citrus and Exotic Fruit with Orange Blossom and Juicy Fruit. Greasy Runtz by TrueCare Farms was the wild card.

For indoor flower, we see a Sherbet (Slims/Conception nursery), Tropicana Cherry (Verdant Leaf), Biscotti Pie (High Noon Cult), Garlic Budder (Green Clover Farms), and Grape Stank (LUVLI) rise above the rest. And with mixed light, Real Eve won all but one category with their Super Boof, Chem-lato, Sherb Cake, and Hash Burger; Bald Peak Farm and Chalice Farms nabbed a win with Blueberry Octane.

See also: After a couple years’ hiatus, the High Times Cannabis Cup Oregon: People’s Choice Edition has returned to Oregon—tune in mid-January for the winners!

Alien Labs Biskante. (David Downs/Leafly)

The Grand Canyon State is making a play to be called the Grand Cannabis State, with over $1 billion in medical and adult-use sales in 2023. They hosted two Errl Cups—the authority in concentrate tastemaking. Spring 2023 saw Peanut Butter Mintz by Aeritz, Alien Labs’ Biskante, and Lemon Meringue by Genesis Bioceuticals crowned. A SOTY runner-up, Super Boof, made the podium in both flower and concentrate forms by Mohave Cannabis Co and Glorious Extracts.

For Fall 2023, Shango’s Guava Tangie won for both Sativa Flower and Sativa Non-Solvent Concentrate, with Nirvana’s Mafia Funeral and High Variety’s Kush Mints rounding out the Indica and Hybrid categories. We spied White Rainbows and KY Jealousy by Earths Extracts and Grape Gas rendered by Copperstate Farms in the winners’ circle too.

Consecrated Farms nearly swept the Open Class Flower, with LA Kush Cake, Platinum Garlic, and Pineapple Upside Down Cake. Honorable mention to Ice Cream Cake, the Sungrown winner by Classix.

In neighboring New Mexico, The Growers Circle did double duty, winning Best Indica Flower and Sativa Flower with Homage and Trop Cherries; hvst’s El Chivo #11 took the hybrid crown. Seed Junky made multiple top-three appearances with Pineapple Fruz and Purple Push Pop, a close relative to our 2023 Strain of the Year winner, Permanent Marker.

See also: Judging is currently underway for their 2023 High Times People’s Cup, so stay tuned for the February 5 winners announcement.

New York’s legal cannabis rollout isn’t quite ready for a High Times Cup of their own. But they did host their second annual New York Growers Cup, where dozens of legacy growers competed across a handful of flavor profile categories: Gas, Sweet, Haze, Sour, and Exotic. We saw many strains that we lauded as winning-material take home trophies; Trop Cherry Gas and Tropical Trufflez tied for the Sweet category, with a Sherb x Biscotti x Animal Mints clearing the Gas lane. Green Haze won for its eponymous group, while Sour Royale got the Sour crown, and Kaboom was dubbed the most Exotic.

The Zalympix also landed on the East Coast this year to survey the Northeast’s best buds; a few frontrunners emerged. Zkittles x Zoap by Gotti was best in show, though Maine Trees’ Blue Lobster won Gassiest, Best Terps, and Best Taste. Marijuantauk Gardens won heaviest hitting with Cap Junky (no surprise there), and Sherbanger by Rugged Roots won Best Looking and runner-up for taste. Apples & Bananas was also in the mix.

Blue Lobster. (Courtesy of Maine Trees)

A perfect indoor flower of Compound Genetics Jokerz. Indica hybrid. Fig Farms-grown. (David Downs)

NECANN has grown from a multistate expo to a regional competition, with cups held in Maine and Boston this year. In Maine, homegrown heroes Maine Trees placed first for Indica Flower with Blue Lobster, while our 2023 Strain of the Year, Permanent Marker, won Indica Flower gold for High Road LLC. Shamanic Roots’ Peach Milano won the sativa category. The best of Boston’s buds went to Northeast Alternatives’ King Garlic Cookies, Ideal Craft Cannabis’ Jokerz, and AMP’s Turbo Diesel.

The first Maryland Home Growers Cup showed us that the Old Line State likes old school cannabis, with the top winner, Orange Velvet, followed by a Northern Lights cross, and—surprise!—Blue Dream.

See also: Results from Massachusetts’ next annual High Times Cannabis Cup People’s Choice Edition are out in January.

(Courtesy Zalympix)

Michiganders like their weed savory and fruity. Their High Times Cup was two-pronged for medical and adult use, which means twice the winners. MI Loud Farms won on both sides, with Garlic Cocktail and Kush Mints. Blue Skunk by High Level Health, Society C’s Spritzer, New Lyfe’s Gogurtz, and Dutch Touch Genetics’ Mr. Clean took flower gold as well. Cap Junky and Moonbow #12 were also in the mix.

Greenwolf’s Zalympix came to Detroit this year to sniff out the fire. Rkive’s Candy Fumes won Best Overall and Best Tasting, and Lightsky Farms’s Titty Sprinkles, third overall, also nabbed both Gassiest and Best Terps. Sherb Pie by Peninsula Gardens was the Best runner-up, with their Cap Junky hitting the heaviest.

Also in the Midwest, Illinois’ High Times Cannabis Cup (People’ Choice) showcased a mix of national and niche, with winners that spanned from Jack Herer (RYTHM) to Cobra Milk (nuEra), and Slapz (also RYTHM).

Cannabis in the middle of the United States is anything but mid. Missouri hit the ground running with their adult-use industry, primed to judge the best of the best. The Missouri Growers Cup chose Blueberry Muffin by Green Thumb Grow Pro for the Grow Master award, with Elevate’s Gary Poppins winning best flower, and Tropicana Cherries emerging as the Home Grown winner.

The ironically named Super Boof. Boof is slang for low-grade. Grown by Triple 7, CA. Hybrid. (David Downs/Leafly)

In Oklahoma, the judges of the Cowboy Cup crowned Mac 1 by Savage Organics and Very Good Grows’ Candy Apple for best sungrown and indoor flower, respectively, with some Kush Mints and Larry Bird (that’s Gelato) runners up; finalists include Tropicana Cherry, Super Boof, Pure Michigan, and Jungle Pie.
Over in Montana, Cup Fest judges chose 710 MT’s Mega Runtz as Best in Show and Best Hybrid flower; Collective Elevation won Indica with Donny Burger and Awesome Blossom’s Fruity Pebbles OG was crowned Best Sativa.

Winners Circle—All 2023 US cannabis contest winners