Photo: Paul WhiteThe Associated Press
FIRING UP: An unidentified marijuana grower lights up a pipe during Spain's
first national marijuana plant competition in Madrid on Saturday.

Growers smoke to choose best pot

MADRIDSpanish marijuana growers staged their first ever contest Saturday
to choose the best cannabis crop,but judgeswho had to smoke 10 different
sampleswere in no condition to pick a winner.

Defying Spain's drug laws,which are among the most lenient in Europe,51
marijuana lovers who cultivate cannabis illegaly for their own use gathered
at a private club to compete for the first annual "Madrid Marijuana Cup."

The growers, acting as their own judges, wasted no time in dividing up the
samples, rolling joints and lighting up. Clouds of aromatic smoke wafted
across the room. One woman passed out and had to be taken outside for some
fresh air.

"We are holding this competition to lobby for a law allowing us to grow
marijuana for our own private consumption," said Javier Mestre, vice
president of the Association for the Study of Cannabis, which sponsored the
contest.

Mestre said the event was inspired by a regionalcourt ruling earlier this
year that allowed a group of growers in northeastern Spain to cultivate
marijuana for their own consumption.

It is illegal to buy or sell cannabis in Spain, but police rarely take any
action against individuals for smoking marijuana in private.

The rules of the contest called for the marijuana samples to be judged for
appearance, taste and effect, on a scale of one to 10. Each judge was given
10 small plastic bags, each containing two grams.

Organizers realized the judges would be in no condition to vote after
smoking such a large quantity, so they gave them until this evening to
recover their senses and pick a winner.

"My favorite weed is smooth, doesn't burn the throat, hits you hard in the
chest and sends your head spinning," said Manuel Doblas.

The mood was mostly festive, but one woman grower became frantic when she
learned that her sample was going to be smoked by all the other competitors.

"There's no way anyone else is smoking my grass," she barked as she
retrieved her jar of marijuana leaves.