Amsterdam is famous for its canals, its red light district and its coffeeshops, where one can buy and smoke a wide selection of cannabis. Holland's liberal attitude towards soft drugs attracts people from all over the world, who feel that this is a place where they have a more relaxed kind of life, even if it's just for a weekend. Thousands of visitors to this beautiful city make a beeline for one of its 400 coffeeshops in order to buy and smoke marijuana legally.

In celebration of cannabis and all its related businesses, High Times magazine holds The Cannabis Cup. During this five-day event the coffeeshops get an opportunity to show off their wares as they compete fiercely in categories such as best marijuana, hashish, seed store and best hemp products. Visitors can see new hemp fashions and sample food from hemp burgers to cheese. Smoking paraphernalia of all descriptions is on sale. There's hemp jewelery, hemp oils and cosmetics and hemp hats - you name it, they make it from hemp.

Also making their presence felt are the various organizations that are fighting for the liberalization of marijuana laws around the world. In the evenings people make their way to the Melkweg club for live music and talks by the visiting celebrity judges - and, of course, to continue to form their opinions on the standard of this year's entries.

This may not be the event for everyone, but it is undoubtedly part of Amsterdam's rich tapestry. There are many reasons to visit this city and the Cannabis Cup is just one.

Cup History

The Cannabis Cup is a festival that was started in 1987 by High Times editor Steven Hager, who came to The Netherlands for an interview with the founder of the first Dutch cannabis-seed company. The Australian owner, Nevil, lived in a mansion filled with growrooms that Hager dubbed "The Cannabis Castle". The festival, held annually inAmsterdam, The Netherlands is one of the most famous cannabis events among cannabis smokers and cannabis-oriented businesses. The public is exposed to a large variety of marijuana strains which they then help to judge. A team of VIP judges decide which seed company brought the best marijuana, while the judges-at-large decide the Cannabis Cup, best new product, best booth, best glass, best hash and best Nederhash.

Highest recorded participation was in 2008 with 2,300 judges. In 2008, the 21st Cannabis Cup featured the induction of Peter Tosh into the Counterculture Hall of Fame, with performances by Andrew Tosh, Ky-mani Marley, Snoop Dogg, CenC Love, Bushman, Rocker T, and Leon, as well as lectures by Roger Steffens. In 2007, the 20th Cannabis Cup featured Tommy Chong and Redman. A film of the anniversary event was released in the summer of 2008.