Spanish growers vie for best pot

MADRID, Spain (AP) Wary of the police outside and hardly visible through
clouds of smoke inside, 50 pot growers puffed on joints Saturday in search
of the best high in Spain's first national marijuana competition.

Concentrating on the smell and, of course, the sensation, each of the
growers tested 10 samples of marijuana from the 50 plants and rated their
quality. The winner, to be announced today, will receive a cup and a manual
on marijuanagrowing techniques.

``I grow it and I smoke it,'' said one of the participants, a 33yearold
waiter from the central city of Avila who would identify himself only as
David.

``I don't bother anyone, and I don't buy or sell marijuana or hashish from
anyone,'' he said.

The event was part of a campaign in Spain for marijuana cultivation to be
declared legal for private consumption. Although Spaniards legally can
possess small amounts of marijuana or hashish, a concentrated form of the
drug, for personal use at home, they can be fined for selling or
cultivating it.

The growers, ranging in age from 25 to 45, puffed away and traded opinions
about each other's crop. They showed no signs of concern, even though three
police officers stood outside.

The competition, organized by the Madrid Association for Cannabis Studies,
was held while Spain's Supreme Court deliberated whether to permit
cultivation for personal use. A ruling was expected any day.

Published Sunday, October 26, 1997, in the San Jose Mercury News