It seems like every year I get into the same place: right after the celebration I pen an opinion piece about the High Times Medical Cannabis Cup.
Lots to talk about this year!
Let’s get into the details and the “easy money.” First, no rain! Second, No Break from the Sun! Boy, be careful what you wish for, huh?
After two years of unfortunate weather hounding the Clio Cup on Sunday, this year’s weekend event went off with a cooperative weather cycle. Although the temperature reached 96 degrees on Saturday, winds of up to 25 mph kept the heat from decimating the patient population. Free water and a cooling station were provided by High Times; some miscellaneous vendors gave out water, too. The MINORML booth had sunscreen available for patients. Compassion was everywhere for the sunburned and exhausted.
The Cup is held at the Auto City Speedway, which is a giant blacktop circle with grass in the center. The grass is where we are at (in many different ways) and the hundreds of vendors present found ample space to do their thing. Despite the heat-retaining asphalt and the complete lack of a cloud anywhere, Saturday was not that tough on the festival attendees, according to the EMT’s whom Eric Gunnels and I spoke to.
“Easy money,” one unidentified and uniformed ambulance man told us, when we asked about Saturday’s medical situation. The half-dozen medical professionals we spoke to on Sunday said Saturday’s heat resulted in only one major medical problem, a single person with heat-induced seizures. Others were given ice packs, bottled water and a shady place to sit.
They compared our Cup with other events where they provide medical services and described our event as “passive” and almost boring. ‘Boring’ is a word rarely used to describe High Times events, but from these guys, I can dig it.
I guess, compared to the drunken crying and vomiting of a regular booze-fueled party, our group must be pretty tame. And what about this ‘High Times Hangover,’ this tasty morsel of interest that I dangled in the story title to get you to read this far? Oh, it’s real. It’s really real.
With booze, you get a hangover that delivers a headache, horrible stomach pain, memory loss and broken friendships. The High Times Hangover is the same thing, but better.
I have a headache, from all the new people I met and trying to remember which face goes with which business card I collected, and which of these people are serious about giving me money and which are just big talkers.
There is no memory loss- okay, a little memory loss- but I’m experiencing more of a memory blur, where all the good times are glooped together. Help me out: I distinctly remember seeing the Advanced Nutrients costumed Bud Man, who had Melissa Etheridge’s face, all body-painted up and doing dabs at the Third Coast Dispensary booth. I know it happened. Back me up on this one, people.
No broken friendships, but I did break a vapor pen, and that’s just as bad. Ah, my pen and I used to take walks in the moonlight- it will be missed.
Now the stomach ache. It’s not an ache, exactly, it’s more of a bloat. The barbecue at the High Times event was excellent. I had so many different things to eat and drink! It is a self-inflicted wound, but it happens to me every year so it gets included in the High Times Hangover definition.
That’s the High Times Hangover in a nutshell: head spinning from all the industry contacts made, memory blur from all the great times, belly bloat from the awesome food and the occasional broken piece of paraphernalia. Additional side effects include euphoria, the disease known as ICan’tStopTalkingAboutTheCup Syndrome, sore feet, a lighter wallet and a wider perspective on politics and life.
The High Times Hangover. It’s the one ailment nobody wants to be cured of.
Source: The Compassion Chronicles
