As is the case with so many things, it’s not until you’ve attended quite a few Cannabis Cups and similar events that you come to know how to get the very best out of them. Or for that matter, how to survive them. The simple fact of the matter is that if you are planning to head to a Cup or competition for the first time, enthusiasm may well get the best of you. You may be highly experienced when it comes to cannabis in general and don’t see yourself as the kind of noob to make an ass of yourself. Nevertheless, you have to be prepared for the kind of environment you may never have experienced before.

So while it may come across as a little dull and boring, it’s nonetheless a good idea to arm yourself with a little expert advice before heading off. By doing so, you’re guaranteed to get far more from the experience in general and avoid making the kinds of mistakes so many first-timers are prone to.

We’ll have an article on those soon enough, but in the meantime, here’s a quick introductory guide on how to survive and enjoy a Cannabis Cup or competition:

Bring Plenty of Pot With You  bring

First of all, don’t fall into the trap of thinking that you will necessarily be able to buy vast quantities of cannabis at the event itself, as easily and legally as picking up a Pepsi. Depending on where the event is being held, it may be 100% illegal in every way for anyone to sell or buy cannabis in any way, shape or form. This is something you will of course have to look into yourself, in order to know where you stand. But assuming there are restrictions in place, be sure to bring more than enough to last the full day with you, as it might be harder than you think to get hold of any after your arrival. You’ll no doubt end up making a bunch of new friends and you can expect massive generosity at these kinds of events – just make sure you’ve likewise got enough to pass around.

Travel Light

travel

Try to remember that it is probably going to be an extremely long and in many respects very tiring day on the whole. Which is precisely why it makes perfect sense to travel as light as you possibly can, just to make things that little bit easier for yourself. There will always be those who simply cannot risk attending these kinds of events without every bit of paraphernalia they are proudest of – including a bong that’s bigger than they are. Which can be impressive enough for others, but being forced to lug all this crap around for the whole day…not so good. Not only this, but there will be such an incredible array of freebies being thrown around from the vendors in attendance that you’ll need to keep yourself as free and clear of home-brought detritus as possible. Even if you arrive empty handed, you certainly won’t leave the same way.

Sensible Lodgings
When an event like the Cannabis Cup rolls into town, all the choice hotels and lodgings close to the event go fast. And not only do they go fast, but they tend to put their prices up big time. Nevertheless, you will be ridiculously grateful to yourself that you thought ahead by booking something as close to the event as possible. In terms of public transport, you may have no chance whatsoever by the time the event finishes. Driving is a possibility, but only if you intend to spend the entire day weed-free…which you don’t. And even if you think at the time the 5km walk after the event will be quite pleasant, try to remember that you might be completely baked out of your mind and have no recollection even in which direction your hotel is in!

Check Re-Entry Rules check

While quite a lot of cannabis events and competitions don’t allow re-entry if you decide to wander out, others most certainly do. As such, if you are lucky enough to be traveling by car with a designated driver, you will save a small fortune throughout the day if you keep a sneaky stash of food and drink in the car. As with most events of a similar nature, you’ll soon get the idea that most of the food and drink vendors present are all about profiteering and less about satisfying attendees. Which really only makes good business sense, but it can deliver a serious wallop to the wallet. If you’d rather spend as little as possible and still keep yourself charged up for the whole day, stash what you need in your car.

Don’t Smoke On the Way  smoke-way

While it may be extremely difficult to resist the urge to do so, you might want to think twice about smoking joints on the way to the event itself. The reason being that while the event may be a safe and permitted place to smoke cannabis, this doesn’t mean that even the immediate vicinity outside its confines is likewise. In fact, you can usually bet your bottom dollar that there will be plenty of additional law enforcement officers and security-types positioned all over the place, just waiting to dive on those caught smoking pot before entering the event. And given the fact that you may be carrying a relatively significant amount of cannabis on your person, it simply pays to take precautions against getting busted.

Beware Sting Operations beware

Speaking of getting busted, you’d like to think that a Cannabis Cup would be one place you really wouldn’t have to worry about narcs, snitches and undercover party-poopers. But you’d also be dead wrong. If the event is taking place somewhere that does not permit cannabis distribution, you could find yourself in big bother if caught buying or selling any while the event is taking place. And as lawmakers just love to spoil things for everyone, you can expect there to be at least a few people walking around trying to catch you and everyone else out. As such, if it’s illegal to buy or sell cannabis during the event, be sure to stay the hell away from anyone who appears to be coercing you into doing something dodgy.

Network Like Crazy

network

You can rest assured that you will never attend an event in your life where you will be surrounded by quite as many high-quality cannabis contacts as this. It may not be that you necessarily intend to go into business in the near future, but there is nonetheless no such thing as having too many cannabis contacts in your database. It’s not a case of wandering around and begging everyone you meet to be your friend on Facebook. Instead, it’s more a case of ensuring that anyone and everyone you meet who is at least slightly interesting gets added to your list of contacts, one way or another.

Hydrate Heavily
Particularly important in the summer though also relevant throughout the year, you need to be mindful and proactive when it comes to hydration throughout the day. The simple fact of the matter is that if you end up getting so buzzed you forget to eat, you will probably survive the day. By contrast, if you don’t keep yourself hydrated enough and spend a whole day under the blazing sun, you could find yourself being taken home by a team of paramedics. And while on the subject of hydration, always try to keep your head straight if you find yourself at a cannabis event that also happens to have a beer tent or two. Remember – you’re here for the cannabis!

Try or Buy Something New try

There’s really very little point attending any kind of cannabis event if you leave at the end of the day no better off than you were at the start. After all, there are plenty of places you can go if your only intention is to smoke from dawn ‘til dusk. When you attend a cannabis event, you really should make the effort to try or ideally buy something new. You will no doubt find a ridiculous array of new gadgets and general cannabis paraphernalia on offer, the likes of which may not be available elsewhere. So even if you consider yourself to be a purist and you don’t necessarily buy into this kind of stuff normally, it’s all part and parcel of the joy of attending these kinds of events.

Take Breaks take-breaks

Last but not least, it’s hard to resist the temptation to hit things as hard and fast as possible during the morning, which can of course lead to early burnout during the afternoon. You know you are going to be here all day and you are aware of the fact that there are tons of awesome things happening throughout the afternoon and the evening. As such, there’s no shame whatsoever in taking occasional breaks to allow yourself to mellow out at least a little and build strength for the rest of the day. You can continue with the hard and fast approach if you like, but chances are you will rob yourself of the enjoyment you could have had later that evening.