An Oregon cannabis fair drew huge crowds and lots of news media coverage over the weekend, demonstrating that marijuana has gone mainstream in some places -- despite the federal government saying just last week that pot has no medicinal value and is still illegal.
The two-day Oregon Cannabis Growers' Fair at the Oregon State Fairgrounds in Salem on Saturday and Sunday featured hundreds of marijuana plants in booths that featured technology, agriculture, and business innovation in the industry, said the Statesman-Journal.
One of the fair's judges, Ed Rosenthal, known as the Guru of Ganja, examined dozens of marijuana plants at the state fair's exhibition hall where he was charged with helping select nine winning plants, reported The Associated Press.
"The first thing is health and to make sure they don't have infections and then to make sure they ... don't have nutrient deficiencies," Rosenthal told the AP. "Then, we look at the structure of the plant: Has it been getting as much sun as it should be getting? Is it sunburned?"
In two weeks, growers of the winning plants will make their way to the Oregon State Fair, noted the Statesman-Journal. The plants will be guarded and kept in a separate greenhouse because of concerns by 4-H parents that their kids might make find their way into marijuana exhibition.
Last Thursday, the Drug Enforcement Administration announced that marijuana will remain an illegal Schedule 1 substance under the Controlled Substances Act, reported USA Today. Substances in Schedule 1 are determined by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to have no medical use.
Oregon is one of a handful of states that have approved marijuana for recreational use.
Danny Grimm and Nathan Martinez, who run the cannabis farm Uplifted, won in two categories and told the Statesman-Journal they recently signed a lease for a new 50,000-square-foot facility to replace their 5,000-foot facility.
"I've been growing plants for 12 years," Grimm said. "It's basically trial and error. It has molded our company into what it is today."