"Man, I smelled the weed from the 805 Freeway."

Last week, scenes reminiscent of a Cheech and Chong flick played out at the Four Points Sheraton just west of Serra Mesa, where oversized joints were passed around, and petite women casually out-smoked jovial, green-friendly giant potheads. But amidst the haze, serious discussions emerged about legally purchased weed and fentanyl.

The August 11 event, Farmer's Cup 710 Edition, was a cannabis lover's paradise, referred to by some of the 1,300 attendees as the "Costco of weed." Inside the hall, 37 vendors' booths offered free THC-infused samples, while outside, the air was thick with the scent of burning cannabis. "Man, I smelled the weed from the 805 Freeway," joked one concentrate smoker.

Despite the abundance of free samples, the event's primary focus was on celebrating the winners of the 710 competition, held a month earlier. The number "710" is a nod to July 10, but it also flips to spell "OIL," symbolizing cannabis concentrates or wax. The event honored the best "oil" products, as judged by San Diego’s cannabis connoisseurs, with the winners — 1904 Provisions, Hashïsh, Jetty Extracts, and Joost — taking home  Farmer's Cup trophies.

 These local favorites were selected by early-access judges who sampled a wide array of products, noting the quality of the smoke, taste, and high. Although traditional flower, pre-rolls, and edibles were judged, the spotlight was on the "oil" products.

La Mesa native Norris Jarmon Jr., who has been cultivating his own weed and creating concentrate oil for nine years, reflected on his experiences at the Farmer's Cup. "I attended and worked the Farmer's Cup event in 2015," he shared in a recent interview. Back then, Jarmon made rosin, a type of concentrate oil produced using two heated plates to squeeze and extract the THC oil from the plant. "At the time, we were using hair irons; yes, the ones to flatten your hair. We, as Dr. Solventless, won awards and became a local staple. We eventually bought presses and brought them to events, squeezing on-site at Farmer's Cup and other local events in the 2015 era."

Nowadays, the more common method for creating THC-infused concentrate oil, known as dabs, involves using chemical solvents like butane and propane to separate the resin from the trichomes on dried cannabis. While Jarmon’s early methods were more manual, today's processes are performed by  chemists in labs, ensuring the solvents are entirely removed from the final product. Jarmon added, "With rosin, you can tell immediately if there are any impurities in the material."

Exhibitors emphasized the need to purchase cannabis from licensed dispensaries, where there is laboratory testing. "You never know what you’re getting on the street."

According to the DEA site, "In 2021 and 2022, there was an average of about 800 deaths in San Diego County caused by fentanyl or analogs of fentanyl in each year. In 2021, San Diego County experienced 88 homicides caused by firearms. That same year, the county saw 814 deaths caused by fentanyl poisoning."

Miramar's Infinite Chemical Analysis Labs tests much of Farmers Cup's canna entrees.

During the Sunday cannabis event,  Laurence Alexander Diek Jr. strapped a Stündenglass Gravity Infuser water bong onto his chest, offering hits to random people at the event. One petite girl stunned onlookers by taking three massive hits without coughing.