Oklahoma’s Medicinal Cannabis industry is full of characters from pirates to enthusiastic connoisseurs with many in between. Overall, a wonderful two-day festival where people in the industry get to mingle, share information, showcase their products and meet their patient base! Many seminars along with the friendly competition made for a memorable weekend. Time to scrutinize….
The Good- Seeing the innovation and growers actively improving the quality of the cannabis plant is inspiring. Improving the genetics, in order to keep a sound plant how it was intended, is something that I’m personally passionate about. It was very easy to enjoy the classes offered, among them I enjoyed learning from Jace Rivera (a brief and not even close to complete summary of his accolades: Director of operations for Green Prairie Farms, 16 years of Cannabis Cultivation, over 8 years’ experience and multiple certifications in Korean Natural Farming and amending it to the needs of the Cannabis plant). Expanding on our knowledge base should be life’s main priority! At the beginning of the class, he asked us to be willing to take our current knowledge and set it to the side and just listen. This is a trait we all need to hone! I encourage everyone to search him out and read his story. His need to find clean medicine for his children who both were cancer patients really put into perspective what this industry is supposed to be about. We are coming out of a prohibition and in the wild west we have very little information, not to mention the stigma still runs rampant. Having events like this are so important to breaking this cycle and standing up for the integrity of the plant. Having our cannabis innovators reach out and cross the line between vegetable gardening and cannabis farming is essential to progression and I believe could potentially solve the dire lack of nutrition our population is suffering from. It was apparent at every booth that time, thought, and genuine care went into each individual strain. Most farms are normal everyday families who have some story about how Cannabis has improved the quality of their or a loved one’s life. A big shoutout to all those Cannabis farms that are stepping up locally. Most of these farms do toy drives, community clean ups, and so much more that is not talked about near enough. I am eager for next year!
The Bad- IT WAS COLD! Whoever originally thought “cup… December…. Outside!” and didn’t second guess it needs to be slapped with a tortilla! Super hard to focus during class let alone take notes when my fingers are freezing! My trips back to the vehicle to warm up were very interrupting. Once we even awkwardly inserted ourselves into another’s booth because they had one of the special provided heat blowers! Not conducive for my positivity! There was 1 truck that had a vegan meal option, having more than 1 meal option for 2 days would be preferable. During the awards the smoke was chokingly thick. I, as a Medicator, still would have preferred fresh oxygen. The after party had no life. The entertainment was awesome, but my guess is all the other goers (like me) were too cold! Next year since its already cold why not go all out and winter wonderland it out. Have hot coco stands and put patio heaters throughout the space. The ticket prices should have covered that let alone booth rentals. Marketing idea reusable hand warmers the microwavable kind. Brand them! Heck I would have bought one!
The Moldy- During the awards it was brought to attention that many entries (outdoor I believe) were disqualified due to mold contamination. I’m grateful that this was brought up for many reasons! As a medicinal patient I have gone to a dispensary and purchased moldy products. It is a scary thought, the repercussions, and how drastic something so beneficial can turn so detrimental. In Oklahoma our farmers have a very difficult time handling these situations and for many of these family farms it could be their last crop. The Cowboy Cup did extend free entry next year to these farms and I truly believe that they (CC) are coming from a place of educate and please return! Education is key and, in this area, a healthy plant and proper prevention is how we as a community need to learn to deal with Powdery Mildew. Remember each strain is different, each environmental conditions are different, and being persistent and consistent are a must in properly handling these situations. I look forward to helping our community learn how to handle these situations by talking and gathering information from everyday gardeners and farmers alike. Our love of experimenting gives us firsthand knowledge. Cucumbers, lettuce, peas and peppers, tomatoes, cannabis and so many more all can suffer from PM!
Everyone’s goal is a heavy and healthy harvest!
Thank you to the Cowboy Cup and all involved! No matter what happens not everyone can be pleased and you’re going to be someone’s “bad guy”. Keep up the hard work. Keep your eyes on integrity. Again, thank you for helping set the industry standard in Oklahoma! I look forward to 2023!
What a great read! 🌿🤟