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On Sunday, upwards of 1,000 people lined up around the block at Refuge PDX in Southeast, waiting to get into the sold-out Dope Cup–a traveling cannabis competition and sampling event put on by Dope Magazine, held for the first time in Oregon.
"Dope Cup is a way to bring in the whole community and be able to make sure that everybody has a chance to connect," says Dope Magazine co-founder and CEO David Tran. "This is the real celebration of what has really progressed here in Oregon, the last few days."
The selection of samples was overwhelming and included every kind of cannabis product imaginable, from cannabis-infused chocolate and tea and medicated hot cocoa to booths sharing generously loading bowls and dabs. Attendees with a Judge Pass–$99 compared to the $25 general admission ticket–could cast their vote for the coveted People's Choice Award. Shining trophies sat on display, with categories like from highest THC flower, best topical product, best CBD edible, best drink, best sweet and best savory edible.
Besides the cannabis cornucopia, the main draw for the event was a performance by rapper Redman. And he did not disappoint. At around 10:20 pm, sporting a "Dope Man" cap, Redman came on stage and the crowd went crazy. He treated the audience to a premiere performance of "Dope Man," a new song he dropped two weeks ago. Determined to take it back to '90s hip hop, Redman performed a medley of '90s tunes such as "Jump Around" by House of Pain and some of his iconic songs like "I Get So High" and "Pick it Up." But things got awkward when Redman asked the audience if they knew the lyrics Method Man's "Da Rockwilder" and the audience responded with meek enthusiasm.
"I expect everyone in this audience to make my homeboy proud that ya'll know his lyrics…I need ya'll to make as much noise as you can for as long as you can and show all these other states that fucking Oregon is the fucking third state to pass the fucking law and beat California," said Redman trying to rile up the crowd.
Despite his attempts, there were only a handful of people who actually knew the lyrics.
"I'm telling Method Man," taunted Redman.
After Redman's performance, most of the energy of Dope Cup dissipated. The winners were announced, though many of them didn't hear their names getting called and never made a stage appearance.
The People's Choice Cup was awarded to Chalice Farms for their Mango Kush and at midnight the party ended and people gathered in front of the various food vendors posted outside. Walking through the crowd, one could hear the dazed and confused ramblings of satisfied Dope Cup attendees.
"So who won the dopest cup?" said one person.
"How many dabs did you take?"
And of course: "That shit was dope."
All images by Katana Dumont.
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Willamette Week