Cannabis, Pot, Marijuana, Ganja, Grass, Mary Jane, Doobie and Cronic are just a few from the many synonyms that
are used to describe a usually illegal drug that was made from the dried leaves and flowers of the hemp plant,
which produces a feeling of pleasant relaxation if smoked or eaten.
Celebrating its 5th anniversary, CannaTrade has grown from its modest beginnings in 2001 and became a
world-famous hemp convention where industry-leading companies come to present their latest products and
services. The convention is divided into five different exhibition-categories; Natural Resources,
Paraphernalia, Grow it!, Institutes and Art and my primary mission was to interview atleast one company
from each category.
Natural Resources
There are 27 production or distribution "Natural Resources" companies that took part in this year convention.
All displaying their products that was made from or with the Hemp plant. The versatility of the plant allows
manufacturers to produce thousands of different items, such as; cosmetics, fabrics, paper, food and beverages.
This shows that the Hemp plant offers much more than just getting high from smoking it.
Lawinenbraeu is one such product - A beer brewed from the Hemp plant. Lawinenbraeu's adopted an open tap policy,
giving their visitors to sample the Hemp-Beer in a 1dl cup, which is very generous comparing to the rest of the
Hemp-Beer exhibitors. Serving behind the counter was Miss Monica Baumeler and according to her, apart from
having 5.2% alcohol volume, the dark brown Hemp-Beer also contains 0.02% of THC. I candidly asked her,"So I
could get drunk and high at the same time?". She smiled and replied, "Well, the drunk will hit you first long
before the high starts to kick in!". I took a sip of the beer, I found that this Hemp-Beer is rather pleasant.
Light with full malty taste. Somewhere between a lager and an ale. After downing my second cup, Miss
Baumeler offers me to try a home brewed Hemp-Schnapps. The 40% alcohol volume dry liquor in question, too,
contains THC but since it was not an approved liquor, the THC content is a trade secret. Taste-wise, I
couldn't tell the difference between any other schnapps. Visit www.lawinenbraeu.ch for more
information.
Other "Natural Resources" products on that were on display:
Shan's Night & Day Cream www.shan.ch
Chanvre's Hemp Seed Oil www.cannabis-helvetica.ch
Fashion & Accessories www.hanfmode-international.com
Paraphernalia
As I ventured deeper into the convention's labyrinth, I saw a large crowd gathered at stand 308. My curiosity
leads me forward and realised that my knowledge on cannabis smoking is now brought to another new level.
Vaporisers. Why Vaporisers? With a Vaporiser, according to a brochure, you gently heat and vaporise the THC
crystals from dried marijuana instead of burning it. So you'll enjoy the lovely taste and only inhale the pure
active agent of the plant minus the tar, nicotine and other bad stuff and you'll use less marijuana as you can
reuse it up to six times, of course depending on its quality.
Simone, Tamar Head & Trend Shop representative, patiently explains to me the purpose of Aromed Vaporisers.
Before Vaporisers were used with marijuana, it was first used with medicinal herbs in the treatment of
various complains, such as; cough, cold, fever, asthma and even menstrual complaints. In Germany, Aromed
Vaporisers has been officially recognized as a device worthy to be refunded by several health insurance agencies. I was given the chance to
try the Aromed Vaporisers but instead of cannabis, Simone replaced it with Sage. I find that with vaporisers,
the inhalation is smoother and easier. Read "Phyto-Inhalation", ISBN 3-922708-36-6, for more information on
vaporizing herbs.
I did, however, asked the person next to me who is trying the other Aromed Vaporisers that was filled with
marijuana. His reply was,"The taste is so different. It's smoother and easier to inhale and it gives a
different high from what I have experienced and I smoke marijuana everyday!". Impressive. Visit
www.rastaman.ch or www.aromed.com for more information.
Upon leaving stand 308, I decided to look for a bong - a cheaper and more conventional way to smoke cannabis
and that is how I discovered ROOR's amazing bong collection. Mr Martin Birzle, a professional glass blower and
founder of ROOR, told me that the name ROOR was taken from the word "micROORganism" and after viewing ROOR's
collection of customized bongs. Its name and bong design are ingenious. Mr Birzle then showed to me a special
bong that will be presented as a peacepipe to ENCOD, European Coalition for Just & Effective Drug Policies,
during its next general assembly. Visit www.roor.de for further inquiries.
Grow it!
With 47 producers and wholesalers, the "Grow it!" exhibition is the largest category in this convention.
Everything that is needed to facilitate you in growing your own Hemp plant is available on display. From
seeds to fertilizers to special lightings to ventilation-systems to special harvest and hemp converting
machines.
So like all plants, from the seed where it all began and when it comes to seeds, there is no one better than
Green House Seed Company, 30 times HTCC (High Times Cannabis Cup) winners since 1995. A representative from
Green House Seed Company, Mr Franco Lojacono, was very helpful in showing me their most potent seed, named
"Hawaiian Snow". According to him "Hawaiian Snow" has a whooping 23.7% THC content and contains 1.1% and 0.8%
CBD and CBN respectively and produces a powerful creative high and a delightful smooth stoned feeling. Hmmmm, I
guess one should try it in order to really experience the effect of this 1st prize winner of the HTCC 2003
competition.www.greenhouseseeds.nl
Media
Moving on I stumbled upon a very interesting chap. Constantly smiling, obviously high on something, but yet
sober enough in trying to convince me into browsing one of the many publications about Hemp that are on sale.
Interesting titles, such as: Cannabis als Heilmittel (Cannabis as a Remedy) and Cannabis Mythen -
Cannabis Fakten (Myths and Facts about Cannabis) would definitely shine a different light on the
misunderstood drug.www.nachtschatten.ch
Art
One exhibitor that stands out in this category is Ivan Art. When I was at his stand, Mr. Esteban Ivan
Artucovich was busy happily sketching a cartoon illustration of a couple. Sadly the man is unavailable for a
chat. After I looking at his artwork that are hanged on the walls, he is a brilliant cartoonist.
Visit www.ivanart.net for more artwork.
Time really flies when you're unaware of its presence. I have spent almost of 5 hours walking around and
admiring the products that were on display by the exhibitors. What I like about this convention is that
I've never seen so many happy people with smiling faces before under one roof but on the other hand, what I
find which is very disturbing is that there are a handful of very young teenagers attending the convention
and majority of them are smoking cannabis freely.
Author: Armand
