by DJ Reetz

For the third year, The Hemp Connoisseur Championship once again celebrated the best in Colorado cannabis. With the all frills due, some of the finest marijuana growers, extractors, aficionados and edible makers gathered to celebrate the best legal cannabis one is likely to find anywhere the world over.

This year, the venue was the Oriental Theater in the historic Berkley neighborhood of northwest Denver. One of the last marijuana-friendly venues in the city, the theater was packed with industry big wigs and eager connoisseurs, a blanket of fine-smelling smoke mixing with the excitement hanging in the air.

Hosting the event was comedian Andy Juett, frequent THC contributor and mastermind of the 420-friendly Sexpot Comedy show. Andy stirred the crowd in anticipation of the award announcements as messages from a smart aleck friend backstage flashed across the screen behind him, drawing laughs from the crowd and hilarious bemusement from Andy. Special guest comedian Ben Kronberg was also on hand to goad out some laughs, though he too was not beyond the mockery of the faceless projector operator.

But the night wasn’t about the comedy. The stars of the show where the stylish green trophies that Andy fairly accurately described as ” Superman crystals” and the outstanding cannabis producers those trophies celebrated. All in attendance were eager to see who would take home the prestigious trophies, and in what categories, especially since this year was the first to have adult-use contenders.

Green Man Cannabis swept the medical flower entries, taking first in indica, sativa and hybrid. But the biggest award of the night went to River Rock, who took home the Grand Champion trophy for their full-melt Bruce Banner ice hash crafted by Trichome Heavy Extracts.

“I’m very proud of my team,” says T.H.E. co-owner Ken Connaughton, whose partner Jibs was on hand to give the acceptance speech for the award. With over sixty entries from some of the finest dispensaries in the cannabis capitol, pride is a well-deserved sentiment.

“It starts with premium organic flower, the best medicine we can find,” he says of T.H.E.’s process. But the outstanding bud from River Rock is only part of the winning formula, it also requires pure reverse osmosis water and ice, and a 72-hour drying process to make a product fine enough to beat out all the other amazing entries.

“What definitely sets us apart is our drying process,” he says. “We strive to have the best dried hash possible.”

Connaughton says the goal at T.H.E is to create the cleanest, healthiest extract possible, free of any potential contaminants that can come from solvents like butane.

“We strive to make the industry safer and cleaner,” he says. “We have a lot of people who are switching over. It’s really cool to see the trend changing.”

T.H.E., once a subsidiary of River Rock is now available at an array of dispensaries around the state, with plans to start having products on shelves in Washington, Nevada, Arizona and California over the next two years. But if you want the award winning Bruce Banner full melt that wowed judges and connoisseurs at the THC Championship, the only place to get it is River Rock.

Thanks to all the contestants and judges who made the THC Championship the premier showing of Colorado’s marijuana muscle for the third year in a row.

Big shout out to J2G Live for organizing an amazing party at the Oriental for us. Thanks to all of our performers last night, Lil’ Scoops (our awesome band) and Andy Juett, Ben Kronberg and Jim Hickox for providing comic relief. Special thanks to our product sponsors Pürr Glass, Jetter Systems and Anonymous Bags. Finally thanks to our host dispensary BotanaCare and Cannlabs for providing testing.

Medical Sativa

1st Place, Best Tested

Green Man Cannabis – Ghost Train Haze

2nd Place

Kind Pain Management – Sour Diesel

3rd Place, Patient’s Choice, Connoisseur’s Choice

River Rock – Jack Frost

Medical Indica

1st Place, Patient’s Choice, Best Tested

Green Man Cannabis -Hell’s OG Kush

2nd Place

Rezen8 Genetics – Phaser

3rd Place, Connoisseur’s Choice

Southwest Alternative Care – White Lightening

Medical Hybrid

1st Place, Patient’s Choice

Green Man Cannabis – Star Killer

2nd Place, Connoisseur’s Choice

Kind Pain Management – Hell’s OG

3rd Place, Best Tested

Canna Caregivers – Super Lemon Haze Dark Star

Concentrates-BHO Extract

1st Place

The Clinic – Kosher Kush Live Resin Batter

2nd Place, Patient’s Choice

Mahatma Concentrates – Trainwreck Shatter

3rd Place

River Rock – Lemon Haze Live Resin by Emotek

Connoisseur’s Choice

The Clinic – Bubba Kush Live Resin Batter

Best Tested

Nectar Bee – Blueberry Wax

Concentrates-H2O Hash

1st Place, Patient’s Choice, Connoisseur’s Choice

River Rock – Bruce Banner Full Melt by Tricome Heavy Extracts

2nd Place

Canna Caregivers – Blue Diesel Dark Star

3rd Place, Best Tested

Nectar Bee – Boss Ice Wax

Edibles

1st Place, Best Tested

Canna Creations – Canna Bomb

2nd Place, Patient’s Choice, Connoisseur’s Choice

Incredibles – Affogato

3rd Place

Nectar Bee- Infuzionz Doughnuts

Adult-Use Sativa

1st Place, Best Tested

Northern Lights Cannabis Company – Kaboom

2nd Place

The Green Solution – Twista

3rd Place, Connoisseur’s Choice

Walking Raven Dispensary – Durban Poison

People’s Choice

The Clinic – Cherry Pie

Adult Use Indica

1st Place, Best Tested

The Green Solution – Presidential Kush

2nd Place

Northern Lights Cannabis Company – Skywalker Kush

3rd Place

The Green Solution – Bubba Kush

People’s Choice, Connoisseur’s Choice

L’Eagle Services – LA Confidential

Adult-Use Hybrid

1st Place, People’s Choice

Walking Raven Dispensary – Hong Kong Diesel

2nd Place

Walking Raven Dispensary – Lemon Skunk

3rd Place, Best Tested

The Green Solution – Cindy White

Connoisseur’s Choice

The Clinic – Jack Flash

GRAND CHAMPION

RIVER ROCK, BRUCE BANNER FULL MELT









