Emerald Cup 2015: an unprecedented turnout

L’Emerald Cup has definitely become the cannabis industry's equivalent of the Oscars. Here's a look back at a weekend full of good news.

The festival, held in Santa Rosa, California, attracted over 21,000 visitors, and more than 420 competitors to vote for the best organically grown, free-range weed.

Read more: The history of the Emerald Cup

«It's impressive to see the quality of the grass here, and the variety of plants. different types of cannabis horticulture has achieved», confided one happy visitor to local reporters.

The weekend's big winner was Cherry Limeaid, a weed cultivated by Jackson Zenter, with sweet, fruity flavors.

One of the key points on which the 2015 edition of the Emerald Cup focused was pesticide-free cannabis cultivation.

For the first time, competitors had to pay a fee of 250$ to cover the cost of testing the weed they entered for pesticides, fungicides and other chemicals. Some 7% of participants were disqualified for using pesticides.

It's very important that a cannabic competition of this level puts cannabis quality first, especially since the’pesticide use in cannabis cultivation has become commonplace.

In Denver, the Health Department has ordered the 13th recall of products made with cannabis in 13 weeks, after discovering banned pesticides in some products.

Experts are predicting soaring cannabis prices in Oregon for 2016 as a result of stricter regulations on pesticide use. The 2015 Emerald Cup has thus solidified its reputation as a serious and healthy competition, for consumers and growers alike.