Celebrating cannabis at the first post-legalization Emerald Cup
A leaf blower is used to blow pot smoke into a crowd of attendees at the first post-legalization Emerald Cup, an annual celebration of cannabis at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds. Legalization is causing a shakeup in California’s pot industry of old, with small farms trying to compete in a vast new legal marketplace.
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An attendee smells a jar of cannabis at the Compassionate Heart Distribution booth during the Emerald Cup. Pot is no longer available only to medical patients; anyone 21 and over can now purchase cannabis.
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The annual event, held at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds in Santa Rosa, is billed as a celebration of outdoor, organically grown cannabis.
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Colorado resident Hannah Dewitt lights up while waiting to purchase highly sought after strains of seeds during the Emerald Cup. People waited as much as six hours in a line that snaked through the livestock barn to purchase seeds that can cost as much as $50 apiece.
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Attendees take a smoking break in the Redwood Stage art exhibit.
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Jeff Princko and Christine Giannelli compare submissions in the Emerald Cup’s cannabis flower contest.
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A worker at the Exotic Genetix booth prepares cannabis plants for sale.
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Compassionate Heart was among distributors at the event, where over two days an estimated 28,000 pot enthusiasts converged.
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Daniel Condon and Mauricio Arzate had just met at the Emerald Cup but shared and compared cannabis.
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Attendees enjoy their purchases at the yearly event that serves as party, conference, marketplace and county fair competition.
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Scott Martin, right, operates his Kush Kannon, a leaf blower with a glass burning chamber attached, which he used to blow a large amount of smoke at the crowd.
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Sofia Cianfichi, of Pleasant Hill, carts off a tray of cannabis plants she just bought at the Emerald Cup.
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