Los Angeles Cannabis Cup 2022: Your Ultimate Guide

Los Angeles: Location and Cannabis Policy

Los Angeles is the second most populous city in the United States, with over four million people calling it home. The “City of Angels” is located on the coast of southern California and is known for its year-round warm weather, diverse population, and sprawling metropolis. LA is also a major cultural center, with numerous museums, theaters, and music venues, and is home to Hollywood. 

The city of Los Angeles has a long history with cannabis. In the early 1900s, LA was home to the nation’s first medical cannabis dispensary. In 1996, California became the first state in the US to legalize medical marijuana. And in 2016, Californians voted to legalize recreational marihuana for adults 21 and over.

Currently, there are over 1,000 licensed cannabis dispensaries in Los Angeles. The city is also home to a thriving cannabis industry, with numerous grow operations, manufacturers, and retailers. It has long been seen as the mecca for weed genetics and should be the first stop on every stick-icky connoisseur's travel itinerary (yep, even before Amsterdam).

High Times Cannabis Cup in Los Angeles

Los Angeles hosts several weed-centric events each year, but the crowning jewel has to be the High Times Cannabis Cup. The inaugural event took place way back in 2015 and has been on the yearly calendar ever since.

In recent years though (thanks to that pesky pandemic situation), there has unfortunately been a stark lack of on-ground events for the last 3 years - 2020, 2021, and now 2022. It has instead been run as a "people's choice" award. What's that, you ask?

Well, instead of the usual awards ceremony, High Times has invited everyone and anyone (people over the age of 21 and holding a valid medicinal cannabis card that is) to take part in the judging process. More on this a little later though.

While it’s not quite the same as being there in person, the online experience is still pretty damn cool. While it's missing the whole festival kinda vibe with music performances, cooking demos, educational panels, and of course plenty of product sampling - it has been a huge success and a novel way to get way more of us passionate stoners involved.

Dates

With the last 3 years being run as "people's choice" events, the dates are a little different from what you might be used to for a cannabis cup. Instead of it being a 2 or 3-day event that we all know and love, these events have had a judging window of 7 weeks in which the general public has been invited to participate.

Judges and Evaluation Process

Continuing on from our previous point, recent years have seen a shift away from the usual judging panel of high-profile weed enthusiasts, budtenders, seed bank specialists, and the like to a system where the judging is opened up to anyone and everyone.

Once you have successfully applied to become an official judge to get your choice of category, purchase the judging kit (which runs between  $180-$360 depending on the category), and a few days later you're in business. All there's left to do at that point is to get high, put your judging cap on, and fill out a judge's report. Head over to their official website to see what the process is all about.

Award Categories and Latest Winners

1st Place Winners

1st Place Winners

Where To Grab Tickets

So, since it's been a home affair for the past few years there has been no need for tickets, and even though we love the open judging format, we are all quietly hoping for a true High Time Cannabis Cup event in the coming year. While no announcement has been made yet, you can be sure that we will let you know as soon as anything changes on the ticket front, so be sure to check back soon. Otherwise, head over to their official website for all the relevant info on ticketing for all the events next year. 

Other Cannabis Award Ceremonies and Events in Los Angeles

Being the literal weed capital of the world right now (debatable, we know - but the culture is just next level in LA), it is certainly no huge surprise that you can find a smorgasbord of gania-based award shows and events in Los Angeles and the surrounding area. 

One of the upcoming events we are super pumped for is the very first ‘American Autoflower Cup’. You may have guessed it from the title, but this cup is solely focused on the wonderful world of autoflowering cannabis.  From humble beginnings, in the past few years, autos have truly started to shine and these days can match the best photoperiod strains in terms of yield, quality, and THC content. Submissions are open until January 10th, with the ceremony taking place on January 27th and 28th at possibly our favorite weed venues in the whole city - Green Street. If you wanna find out more or try your hand at competing against the best autoflower producers in the world right now, head straight to https://americanautoflowercup.com/

Then we have WEEDCON. This 2-day event truly is a pothead's dream, with a full convention-style area (with more than 70 exhibitors) and cannabis cup all rolled into one. There's a farmers market that includes a star-studded lineup of all the best edible producers in the so-cal region, a health and wellness area, as well as a business-to-business section where brands can network and mingle. All of this is, of course, on top of the general weed festivities which include live music, food trucks, and - you guessed it - plenty of green gold.

Dates

For the American Autoflower Cup,  the ceremony takes place on January 27th and 28th, 2023. The full judging panel will be announced at the end of October, and submissions are open until January 10th.

WEEDCON is scheduled for February 24th and 25th, 2023.

Judges and Evaluation Process

The American Autoflower Cup will announce the full judging panel very soon, with the head curator being Jeremy Norrie. Jeremey is a true veteran of the cannabis cup scene, and is the man behind 'The Secret Cup', among other huge events. A true wealth of knowledge on everything cannabis, as well as being known for putting together some of the best cup judging panels ever seen.

WEEDCON is also yet to announce the full judging panel for their next event, but it's safe to assume that it will be made up of all the best and brightest in the industry. The event covers such a wide variety of cannabis-based products and businesses that it's hard to say who will be included for sure, but we are certain that it will be an impressive lineup.

For both competitions, the evaluation process is mostly shrouded in secrecy until closer to the event. However, we do know that both the American Autoflower Cup and WEEDCON place a very strong emphasis on fair judging, and ensuring that all entries have an equal chance of winning. This is done through a variety of methods, but the two key ones are having a large and varied judging panel, as well as a full lab analysis.

Award Categories and Latest Winners

With this being the first American Autoflower Cup, there are no past winners to list. But we expect to see all the main categories covered like Best Auto Sativa Flower, Best Auto Indica Flower, Best Auto Hybrid Flower, Best Auto CBD Flower, Best Auto Edible, Best Auto Vape, Best Auto Pre-roll, etc.

The full list of WEEDCON winners 2021 is a little too long to list here, but the main categories are:

WEEDCON winners 2021

WEEDCON winners 2021

WEEDCON winners 2021

Where To Grab Tickets

Tickets to the American Autoflower Cup and WEEDCON are not yet on sale, but we will update this space as soon as they are. In the meantime, you can stay up to date with all the latest news and announcements by following both competitions on social media, and through the main websites.

Although we didn't have time to dive deep into all of the amazing cannabis-related events in L.A, there are a couple more worth mentioning.

L.A's Hempcon is the largest medical cannabis trade show in the world. It is a gathering of people interested in all things related to cannabis, including growers, manufacturers, and retailers. The event features exhibits, seminars, and networking opportunities. It is also a chance for industry leaders to discuss the latest developments in cannabis classification and regulation. Hempcon is an important event for anyone involved in the medical cannabis industry. It provides a platform for businesses to showcase their products and services, and for attendees to learn about the latest advancements in the field. LA's Hempcon is a must-attend event for anyone interested in staying up-to-date on the latest developments in the medical cannabis industry.

LA's first-ever Highboom was a women-only event that took place on April 16th. The event was created to provide a safe and welcoming space for women of all ages to come together and learn about cannabis. Highboom also had a focus on yin yoga and spiritual guidance, with an included sound bath experience. And of course, the list of 4/20 events is almost never-ending.

The Los Angeles cannabis scene is booming, and there are a ton of great events happening this year. If you're looking for a place to start, check out the High Time Cannabis Cup, the American Autoflower Cup, WEEDCON, Hempcon, or Highboom. And if you're in town for 4/20, there's sure to be an event that's perfect for you. No matter what your interests are, there's something for everyone in the Los Angeles cannabis scene.

What are your favorite cannabis events in Los Angeles? Let us know in the comments below!

As the legal cannabis industry grows, there are more and more niche cannabis cups and each one is unique; Sometimes more focused on the medicinal side and sometimes more focused on the recreational side but always focused on the cannabis community. 

The American Autoflower Cup will be holding the unique cannabis cup and we invite you to come and be a part of this community, get to know like-minded individuals, and share your experience.