Gypsy Kush from Kannabia, awarded with “Best in Show” in Lift Toronto

Lift Vancouver was a great opportunity to explore new technology and interact with industry leaders all in one beautiful downtown Vancouver location. Hosted at the Vancouver Convention Centre on September 17th and 18th , the expo included over 130 industry exhibitors displaying everything from seeds and nutrients, to custom hand blown glass pieces and rotary evaporators. The Lift Cannabis Company made it a priority to engage enthusiasts at every possible level. Information sessions were scheduled to enlighten those looking into the medicinal benefits of Cannabis. Cooking demonstrations were used to illustrate how simple and impactful cannabis based diets can be. The growing enthusiast was given the opportunity to not only purchase supplies but also meet and discuss their practices with industry professionals. One of the most anticipated aspects of the event was the Lift Cannabis Cup presented by 420 Canada.

420 Canada worked to provide the highest level of cannabis competition. With over 50 entrants placed into distinct categories, the nations most revered growers and hash makers were put to the test. Top seed companies were all in attendance; Kannabia entered Gypsy Kush, G13 Labs entered Pineapple Express, Philosopher Seeds entered Orange Candy, Dutch Passion entered Power Plant, House of the Great Gardener entered CBD Barb and Serious Seeds entered Warlock. Submissions by growers like Jose “Pedro” Dominguez, and Matt Beren(House of the Great Gardener) as well as hash-makers such as Horatio Delbert made for an unprecedented level of competition.

Jennawae McLean of 420 Canada explained that the Lift Cup is designed to remove bias from the judging process. With this in mind, one panel of judges was selected from the general public; the “Average Joe’s” comprised of no professionals and none affiliated to any cannabis company. All Cups have judging guidelines and previous to this Cup in Vancouver, many organizations had been depending solely on the opinion and expertise of industry professionals. The “Average Joe’s” panel allows for much needed insight into the perspective of an “everyday” enthusiast. With equal weight placed on their votes, the Average Joe’s proved to be more than capable. In most instances the results of Average Joe voting correlated strongly with the results of industry professionals. Still there may be some skepticism surrounding the votes. Jennawae further addressed the notion by disclosing the identity of all participating judges, along with their judging results. Award winning master-grower Jose Dominguez, including 15 Lift Cups explained;

“Some competitions open judging to the public, sometimes including more than 150 judges. While others use panels of the industries elite in order to properly judge the finest craft cannabis Canada has to offer. The Lift Cup is just that, elite. I am flattered to have received so many awards across so many categories from this distinguished group of judges. Being evaluated by top Canadian connoisseur’s as well as the Average Joe’s tells the story…. Quality stands for itself.”

• Jose “Pedro” Dominguez- Cannacopeia/Sherbrooke Hydroponique

Despite his overwhelming amount of success following the two Lift events, there remains only one award that eludes Pedro, “Best in Show”. The honor belonged to Kannabia Seeds who once again managed to win a concentrate category by a landslide. Following the Mataro Blue rosin win at Lift Toronto, Kannabia sought after a win in a different category. The Gypsy Kush shatter submission by Kannabia not only won “Best Shatter” but also managed to outscore all other competitors claiming their first ever “Best in Show” win. It was the only entry to receive perfect scores from numerous judges.

The Lift Cup is steadily gaining notoriety across North America as an elite Cannabis Cup. With expectations for Lift Toronto on the rise, we can expect another incredibly competitive and well represented Cup in the nation’s largest city in 2017. The complete Lift Cup results can be found at