ROLLING TO VICTORY

Portland grower sweeps the Oregon Medical Cannabis Awards with "Lemon
Pledge," "Train Wreck" and "Dynamite."

A very mellow gathering of 100 medical-marijuana users got some
delicious news at the seventh annual Oregon Medical Cannabis Awards
on Saturday night.

Apparently, the weed keeps getting better and better," announced Russ
Belville, associate director of the National Organization for the
Reform of Marijuana Laws' Oregon branch.

Belville based his statement on the scores this year's 27 entries
received from a lucky pool of 28 judges who are medical marijuana
patients. Each judge got a gram of each type to sample over six
weeks, and rate on appearance, taste, aroma, potency, smoothness and
medicinal effect.

This year's top entry received an 80 percent score. Last year's
winner, 78.8 percent.

The crowd--many of whom made trips throughout the night to a
courtyard set up outside the Ambridge Events Center in Northeast
Portland for medical-marijuana cardholders to smoke and vaporize
their stash--erupted in applause.

Paul Stanford, head of a Portland-based national chain of
medical-marijuana clinics called THC Foundation (see "King Bong," WW,
Dec. 12, 2007), dominated this year's awards. Stanford collected
first, second and third prize for his Lemon Pledge, Train Wreck and
Dynamite strains.

Stanford, who in past cannabis contests has never broken into the top
three, chalked the victory up to better tilling in his outer East
Portland garden. "We did a lot better job mixing our dirt this year,"
he told WW after collecting his glass trophies and ribbons.

David Verstoppen, the legendary Eastern Oregon grower who's won the
past three years and fell victim to a violent attempted weed heist
(see "High-Jacked," WW, Nov. 12, 2008), had to settle for an
honorable mention in the "best aroma" category for his Medicine Woman strain.

This man is living proof that you can't keep a good man down,"
Belville told the crowd as Verstoppen took his ribbon after making
the five-hour drive from Long Creek.

The highlights of the evening were the cake table (chocolate, custard
or organic carrot) and the keynote address by Allen St. Pierre, head
of NORML's national office in Washington, D.C. He called for
legalization as a matter of "cognitive liberty."

Of course we want to get high. This is self-evident. But we can get
plenty high under prohibition," St. Pierre said. "There's no moral
reason why you shouldn't have access to this incredible plant."

St. Pierre bemoaned what he called the "Balkanization" of the
marijuana movement, with hemp advocates, medical patients, pot
decriminalizers and hard-drug legalizers all staking out territory.

He noted a new phenomenon where retiring baby boomers are returning
to their youthful pastimes, including marijuana use, and contributing
more money to NORML. But he also said the organization needs new ways
of reaching out.

What if we had marijuana dating services?" he asked. "How many of us
are with our spouse or partner because of the commonality of cannabis?"

FACT: NORML's Allen St. Pierre hinted he may move the group's office
to the West Coast, on the friendly side of America's "marijuana
Maginot Line." He said Portland is high on the list of possible
homes. One audience member promised plenty of "green office space."