Everywhere you turned, there were signs of cannabis.
From the vendor booths decorated with marijuana leaves, to the Proposition 215 area where people could smoke if they had a California medical card, to the panels like “How Cannabis Will Save The NFL,” the National Orange Show looked was one gigantic pot party.
“If you like marijuana, you’re in weed heaven for sure,” said Leilani Kaloha, 45, of San Diego. Kaloha said she did not smoke marijuana but enjoyed edibles or foods with marijuana in them and entered one of her cupcakes with cookies and cream frosting – and hash baked inside.
The High Times Medical Cannabis Cup began Saturday and is set to continue Sunday as well as Feb. 5-7 at the National Orange Show in San Bernardino.
The NFL panel featured former NFL players Ricky Williams, former All-Pro rusher with the New Orleans Saints and Miami Dolphins; Kyle Turley, former All-Pro offensive lineman with the Saints and other teams; Eben Britton, former offensive lineman with the Jaguars and Bears; and Nathan Jackson, former tight end with Broncos.
“This is not a lifestyle choice, this is a health choice,” Turley said. “I care about my life and want to live as long as possible.”
Turley earlier in the discussion said NFL coaches had used the drug, and he felt the NFL was “waiting for the legalization process” before it would go ahead and be fine with its players using it.
Williams added that the use of cannabis helped him in his career. He joined other panelists in denouncing other medications prescribed by the NFL, saying “I agree pain pills suck.”
About 50 people attended the late afternoon panel, as well as another titled “Live recording of Free Weed From Danny Danko.” But not all of the panels went off as planned.
“The CA 2016 Legalization Roundtable: Understanding the Adult Use of Marijuana Initiatives” had a table with four empty chairs and at 2:30 p.m., after the panel was scheduled to start at 2 p.m.
Additionally, without a medical marijuana wristband, people including the media were out of luck to browse the medical areas.
From the outside, one could hear chest-caving bass from current hip-hop songs, a DJ yelling about “free dabs” and large fencing to keep you from looking inside.
Kaloha said inside people were receiving free samples of edible cannabis, wax and flowers to consume despite the Cannabis Cub website telling attendees there was no free marijuana.
John Ponder, age 27, and Audra Lambert, 25, both of Dallas, Texas, said they did not know they needed a California medical card to get inside the medical area after buying tickets to enter the event. And since they were from out of the state, they said they were denied the chance to get one.
“I would like to at least walk around,” Lambert said of not being able to enter the medical area. “I’m not even caring about not smoking.”
Chris Hashe, 46, of the High Desert, sat at a bench outside of the medical area. When asked what he did for a living, he said he was a farmer and had attended the event six times before including a Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam. He said last year’s cup wasn’t as crowded.
“This is the most people I’ve ever seen on the first day,” Hashe said. “You’ll probably see even more next weekend.”
Hashe, like others at the event who were asked, said he was looking forward to the day the state would legalize marijuana.
“It would be better than the current situation,” Hashe said, where recreational marijuana is currently banned. “If we keep it regulated, instead of trying to suppress it, people wouldn’t have to go to a black market source and who knows what they’ll find.”
