My Master’s research project explores how cannabis cultivation practices are (un)done post-legalization by participating in the first Licensed Producer cannabis cup held in Canada. From August 2021 to December 2021, I conducted in-person fieldwork following one gardener’s process of growing cannabis to compete in the first Licensed Producer Cannabis Cup. I entered the field with pre-conceived ideas about cannabis and home gardeners. I guess you can say that I was mesmerized by the mystic that surrounds the plant. I was also curious about how to grow aesthetically pleasing plants like the ones on the cover of High Times magazine.

In this essay, I share my experiences participating in the cannabis cup. Although I demonstrate how the cannabis cup was not what I expected it to be, it did provide the grounds for further inquiry regarding the legislative framework of the Cannabis Act that is worthy of further exploration. Canada legalized recreational cannabis on the basis that it would protect young Canadians by keeping the plant out of the hands of children and youth, keeping profit out of the hands of criminals, and protecting public health and safety by decreasing the risk and reducing the potential damages surrounding cannabis. Yet, with such harsh regulatory measures, a new phenomenon is rising; cannamania for the highest THC flowers. 

The first video below demonstrates the weeks leading to harvest. The following two videos are part of a seminar presentation about the essay.