It’s official: What should have been a death knell for this year’s Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam has only made us stronger.

All seminars held at the Melkweg today were packed. Cup attendees, even after all they have been through, remained in good spirits and eager to learn all the insider secrets (grow and otherwise) that were unveiled during the day.

The “Curing and Storing Award-Winning Cannabis” seminar presented by James Loud and Mike Seeds went into the specifics of how to dry and cure buds, while preserving trichomes and flavor. What made the talk so interesting was that Mike and James are from different parts of the US, so the drying and storing techniques differ for each.

Keith Stroup taught the crowds about the US marijuana legalization movement during his “Moving from Medical Use to Full Legalization” seminar. It was especially interesting in light of Amsterdam’s growing ever-stricter rules on marijuana.

The main point of the seminar was while it is very important to fight for the medical patients to be able to get what they need, US citizens should have the right to smoke whether they are medical patients or not. It was a message that resounded heavily with the audience.

There was more marijuana cultivation information from HT’s own Nico Escondido during the “Beginner Grow Tips for Indoor Cultivation: Get Growing Now!” seminar, which covered the nuts and bolts of indoor vs. outdoor grows, and what is needed for success in both.

Can good quality be obtained indoors? “Yes,” says Nico. “You can get four or five cycles per plant.” Want to learn more? Go here.

Elise McDonough covered the topic of safe dosing for marijuana edibles. Spacecakes that can be found in various coffeeshops around town don’t have any information about how much THC you’re getting. The lack of dosing instructions on Spacecakes have led to some getting too high, which we know can be uncomfortable (although easily solved with a nap).

The message Elise had was “low and slow.” Take a small piece of the edible, and then wait two hours before eating anything else medicated. Want to learn more? Go here.

Last seminar for the day offered attendees an amazing opportunity to meet Marc Emery, who began his cannabis activism in 1990, when he launched a campaign to challenge Canada’s 1987 ban on books and magazines about marijuana — in particular, High Times magazine.

By 1995, Emery had achieved that early goal; pot books and magazines were made legal.

Again, this Cup and been a difficult one so far, but we (both  High Times and all Cup attendees) are standing strong. Until tomorrow!