DID THE Oregon State Fair award a blue ribbon for pot plants?
NOT QUITE. However, the Oregon State Fair featured a display with nine exemplary pot plants, selected from a larger pool and based on an independent competition. A significant amount of ink was spilled over these particular plants in widely distributed media like the Guardian and USA Today, probably because no state fair had ever allowed a display of living cannabis. So, once again, Oregon has raised the bar with weed.
The plants themselves were immature, meaning they were not producing flowering bud. The plants also contained zero THC content and therefore could not get anyone high. Even if the plants were loaded with THC and heavy with buds, however, fairgoers could not have enjoyed them in the traditional manner. This is due to the law against public weed use, which includes fairgrounds. (I realize that this may be confusing for anyone who has attended the Oregon Country Fair.)
I will confess that I have never attended our state fair, and, having seen a plant or two in my line of work, I did not feel compelled to make the trek. My information, however, is that the display was restricted to adults 21 and over. I also understand that each interested adult was required to provide photo identification prior to entering the tent. Feeling leery of a possible peep show vibe, I watched a few videos of fairgoers at the display and was relieved to see that it all looked pretty normal.