A jar of cannabis at Seattle's Hempfest in 2015. Photo by Gracie Malley for Cannabis Now.

Cannabis Now staff writer Jimi Devine disagrees with Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, arguing that, of course, it’s California that has the best cannabis.

In one of the most controversial claims since Galileo declared that the earth wasn’t the center of the universe, Washington state’s Gov. Jay Inslee told late night pundit Bill Maher that his state had the best cannabis in the country.

The claim was made on the recent 420 edition of Maher’s longtime HBO show.

“I can honestly say we got the best weed in the United States of America,” Inslee told Maher.

Maher, a first-wave celebrity marijuana aficionado and activist, also mentioned that he bought a $3,000 Mothership glass piece earlier in the program, while showing a picture of a Mothership/Sagan glass collaboration that probably went for closer to $200,000.

What’s the common thread between Inslee’s assertion his state has the best marijuana and Maher’s glass mix-up? Besides the fact that they both referenced cannabis, they’re both operating in an alternate reality beyond the realm of truth.

We’ll give Inslee the benefit of the doubt, as he said his criteria came from the fact that his state has a growing and well-regulated industry, two points he noted to Maher. And by that criteria, you wouldn’t be able to necessarily say he is wrong. In fact, Inslee earned a B+ from NORML’s recent governor rankings on cannabis policy, making him one of the top governors in the nation for advancing marijuana legalization.

Plus, the most important thing Inslee said on Maher’s 420 show was that he reiterated his stance to protect his states marijuana market.

“We need to make sure that they back off,” Inslee told Maher and his fellow panelists. “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the first time Donald Trump said something that was actually true — if he said he would leave us alone on our marijuana decriminalization? And I hope that will occur.”

However, as for his most audacious claim that Washington state has the best marijuana, Inslee is absolutely unjustified.

I’ll admit that there isn’t a real national cannabis competition to determine the objective best across the United States — but there doesn’t need to be. Everyone who wanted to be fantastic at growing pot moved to California 20 years ago. Even before that, the hippie trail brought seeds to the growing areas north of San Francisco at the end of a Grateful Dead tour, a psychedelic pilgrimage or after a backpacking trip in pre-Soviet invasion Afghanistan. When High Times finally hosted their first Cannabis Cup in California in 2010, after years in Amsterdam, longtime editor Dan Skye noted they were finally hosting it where the best pot was.

Also, Washington state has an inferior climate for growing cannabis outdoors compared to California. You can’t even grow full-sun cannabis in Washington state without fear of the worst. Seattle averages 152 days of rain per year. You know what rain is made of? The stuff that soaks buds until they rot and washes trichomes away every morning, as Canadian mists terrorize fields with their artic chill. Yeah, that’s where the best pot wants to grow. Sure.

Plus, even if you have your cannabis growing in a greenhouse, just think about all those days the plants wouldn’t be getting sun in Washington.

In the heart of California’s ancestral cultivation zone, The Emerald Triangle, it rains about 44 days a year. Most importantly, the vast majority of those rainy days happen after the harvest and before spring planting.

For those who would argue that Washington can compete in the indoor growing arena, I ask, “Why would you build a production facility in an environment where you can’t take advantage of the free energy the sun provides?” The answer to this question is because of federal prohibition laws, not because you expect to grow the best pot there. Everyone will buy their pot from California once interstate commerce exists in the cannabis industry. These Washington facilities are meant to take advantage of the moment, but they were never meant to grow the best weed in the world and never will.

TELL US, which state do you think has the best weed?