Saturday, December 13, we held our 7th Annual OMCAs and it was a fantastic event! We will be collecting the photos, video, audio, and full results all this week, so check back often for the latest updates from OMCA.
Allen St. Pierre, Executive Director of NORML, opened and closed the events, with rousing speeches that recognized the pioneering work in cannabis reform that is happening here in Oregon.
Our reigning champion for the past three OMCAs was dethroned this year. Paul Stanford of the THC Foundation Medical Marijuana Clinics swept the top three honors in this year's OMCAs, a hat-trick that has never been accomplished in the seven years of the Awards.
Rep. Peter Buckley won the Dr. Rick Bayer Award for the person or organization who who has done the most to protect Oregon's Medical Marijuana Act. (Read Rep. Buckley's statement.)
Anna Diaz' Sustainable Fashion Show was the hit of the afternoon events. Clothes for kids and adults, from casual to wedding gown, were modeled for the appreciative crowd. As an extra treat, the models stepped up to the mic to deliver a hemp fact before leaving the catwalk.
Madeline Martinez & Russ Belville delivered 20-minute presentations on Cannabis & The Media and Dan Harmon's Assault on OMMA, both of which will be available online soon.
Paul Loney moderated our two-hour CLE-accredited legal panel on Cannabis & The Law.
Scott Gordon coordinated the largest selection of cannabis community vendors we've had in the seven years of OMCA.
Renée Pelster and Melodie Silverwolf organized the Oregon NORML table and check-in for guests and the fashion show, leading to the smoothest-run OMCA yet.
Dave Bram engineered the double-blind bar-coded judging system and the information technology that displayed real-time scoring results.
Statement by Rep. Peter Buckley on Receiving the 2007 Dr. Rick Bayer Award
I would like to offer my sincere appreciation to Dr. Bayer and Oregon NORML for this award. I would also like to thank the dozens of Oregonians who came to Salem to testify in 2007 on the positive effects of medical marijuana in their lives, and on their clear insistence that they be allowed to continue their responsible use of this medicine without the threat of losing their jobs. Their testimony, covering hours of committee time and coming from people from all walks of life, was moving, insightful and effective. Their testimony stood in stark contrast to the proponents of the anti-Medical Marijuana legislation who could not point to a single incident of a workplace injury due to Medical Marijuana, but were insistent in their desire to fire Medical Marijuana patients at will and extremely confident of their power in the legislative process to pass a bill to allow them to do so.
They came very, very close, and they will be back again, with greater force, in front of the legislature in 2009. The facts are not on their side. I will continue to do everything I can do to make sure that the votes will not be on their side, either. And I will need your help. We need Medical Marijuana patients from all over Oregon to meet individually with their state representatives and state senators to inform them of just how Medical Marijuana impacts their lives--to continue to put forth facts to stand against the myths being promoted by the Associated Oregon Industries and others seeking workplace discrimination. We need to work together to stop abuses of the Medical Marijuana program whenever they exist--any abuse of the program fuels the push for discrimination. This is extremely important to keep in mind, and extremely important for us to focus our time, energy and efforts on.
I greatly look forward to working with you in 2009 and beyond to stop the currently proposed discriminatory, unjust and unwise legislation being put forth by AOI, and to finding ways to make the Oregon Medical Marijuana program strong and effective for the thousands of Oregonians it serves.
Thanks & Onward -- REP. PETER BUCKLEY
Oregon Medical Cannabis Awards 2008
Official Results
Overall Scores
Score
Strain
Grower
Strain #
Trophy* - 1
80.00%
Lemon Pledge
Paul Stanford
24
Trophy* - 2
79.58%
Trainwreck
Paul Stanford
23
Trophy* - 3
79.26%
Dynamite
Paul Stanford
12
Ribbon - 4
79.05%
Cheese
Andrew H.
8
Ribbon - 5
78.94%
Skunky Purple
Aaron F.
2
6
78.79%
LA Confidential
Mike A.
4
7
78.72%
Medicine Woman
David V.
9
Appearance
Score
Strain
Grower
Strain #
Ribbon - 1
87.41%
OSBB
James L.
22
2
87.04%
Skunky Purple
Aaron F.
2
3
86.92%
Medicine Woman
David V.
9
4
85.93%
Purple
Daniel D.
15
Aroma
Score
Strain
Grower
Strain #
1
86.30%
Lemon Pledge
Paul Stanford
24
Ribbon - 2
85.39%
Medicine Woman
David V.
9
3
84.07%
Trainwreck
Paul Stanford
23
4
82.69%
Bob's Luck
Bob E.
1
Potency
Score
Strain
Grower
Strain #
Ribbon - 1
78.89%
Cheese
Andrew H.
8
2
78.52%
Skunky Purple
Aaron F.
2
3
78.52%
Dynamite
Paul Stanford
12
4
82.69%
Bob's Luck
Bob E.
1
Taste
Score
Strain
Grower
Strain #
1
80.00%
Dynamite
Paul Stanford
12
Ribbon - 2
79.62%
Green Lantern
Paul Stanford
25
3
79.58%
Snow Track
James L.
27
4
79.26%
Trainwreck
Paul Stanford
23
Smoothness
Score
Strain
Grower
Strain #
1
80.00%
Trainwreck
Paul Stanford
23
2
77.78%
Lemon Pledge
Paul Stanford
24
Ribbon - 3
77.69%
LA Confidential
Mike A.
4
4
77.60%
Medicine Woman
David V.
9
Medicinal Effect
Score
Strain
Grower
Strain #
1
78.89%
Cheese
Andrew H.
8
2
78.52%
Skunky Purple
Aaron F.
2
3
78.52%
Dynamite
Paul Stanford
12
4
78.08%
LA Confidential
Mike A.
4
* Strains that win 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place Overall trophies are ineligible for the five Category ribbons. Scores range up to 100%, with a score of 1-10 ranked for Appearance, Aroma, Potency, Smoothness, Taste, and Medicinal Effect, which is double-weighted for the purposes of scoring. Medicinal Effect is the only category for which no ribbon is given.
7th Annual Oregon Medical Cannabis Awards 2008
Saturday, December 13 - Ambridge Events Center
With Keynote Speaker - NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre
Oregon NORML is proud to present the seventh annual 2008 Oregon Medical Cannabis Awards (OMCA). Our keynote speaker this year is the Executive Director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, Allen St. Pierre. Mr. St. Pierre has been the Executive Director of NORML's political organization, the NORML Foundation, since 1997, and Executive Director of NORML since 2005. He has appeared thousands of times on television and radio to promote the truth about cannabis and to expose the idiocy and hypocrisy of the War on Marijuana.
OMCA is also proud to present for the fourth year our Sustainable Fashion Show. Oregon NORML Founder Anna Diaz coordinates Portland's best designers of environmentally-friendly fashions, including hemp, organic cotton, and recycled items. The Show is for all the cannabis activists who want to "walk the talk" by dressing the part.
OMCA also features our Cannabis Legal Panel. Coordinated by Oregon NORML's Legal Counsel Paul Loney, the Panel features criminal defense attorneys who specialize in marijuana law, Brian Michaels and John Lucy IV, medical marijuana expert Dr. Sandra Camacho MD, and Oregon Medical Marijuana Program Manager Tawana Nichols. Attendance is accredited for 2.0 CLE credits for legal professionals.
NOTE: CLE credits for attendance at the Cannabis Legal Panel cost $30 and must be arranged through Attorney Paul Loney for proper reporting to the Oregon State Bar. Purchase of CLE credits also include entry into the full day of floor events, but not to the evening Awards Banquet. See below for Banquet Ticket purchases.
OMCA speakers and presentations on Issues in Cannabis will inform, educate, and entertain everyone in the cannabis community, medical or social:
Oregon NORML's Executive Director and member of NORML's Board of Directors Madeline Martinez will be delivering a special presentation entitled Assault on OMMA on Dan Harmon and Associated Oregon Industries latest legislative agenda, which includes writing job discrimination against medical marijuana patients into law and severely curtailing the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act.
Oregon NORML's Associate Director and host of NORML's News Russ Belville will present Why the Media Lie About Cannabis, featuring a review of the Top Ten Reefer Madness headlines of the year, a look at "framing" the cannabis issue, and how to change people's minds about marijuana.
Oregon NORML Presents: A Cannabis Community Forum, Oregon NORML's TV show directed by David Bram, will be showing Oregon NORML Presents: The Best of 2008 video, reviewing the events of the past year including Hempstalk, Hempfest, OCTA, the Million Marijuana March, and news stories.
And of course, there is the Awards Banquet. Twenty-eight Oregon medical marijuana patients have been carefully evaluating 1g samples of medical cannabis grown in Oregon by state-registered growers. The patients rate the medicine on its time to onset, medical efficacy, medical potency, and duration of relief. This information, combined with the patients' listed medical condtitions, help others in the community to know which strains and growing methods will best alleviate their symptoms.
Judges also rate the cannabis on connoisseur qualities like appearance, taste, aroma, and smoothness. Ribbons are given for the top-rated samples in each category (but only if the sample doesn't qualify for a trophy). The top five overall samples win ribbons, while the top three also receive a stunning crystal trophy.
Throughout the hall during the day you can peruse the items for sale from our Cannabis Community Vendors. You'll find some of the finest locally-produced artwork, glass, clothing, jewelry, soaps, candles, and more goods with a cannabis theme. Click the map on the left for a full-sized version so you'll know where to go next.
You'll also have the opportunity to visit without Non-Profit Organizations at their exhibits. In addition to learning all about marijuana law reform at the Oregon NORML table, you can learn how to qualify for medical marijuana with the THC Foundation's Clinics, and you can get politically active with the only party that completely supports Oregon NORML's mission, the Pacific Green Party.
The OMCA provides coffee service in the afternoon and there is a cash bar at our evening Awards Banquet, which is fully catered and offers your choice of beef, chicken, or vegetarian entrée. Tobacco smoking is prohibited in the Ambridge Events Center, though you may choose to smoke tobacco outside the premises. Accommodations for medical cannabis patients will be available.
Oregon Medical Cannabis Awards
Ambridge Events Center
300 NE Multnomah Ave
Saturday, December 13 - 10am to 10pm
(Next to MAX Convention Center Station on Red & Blue Lines)
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OMCA also features our Cannabis Legal Panel. Coordinated by Oregon NORML's Legal Counsel Paul Loney, the Panel features criminal defense attorneys who specialize in marijuana law, Brian Michaels and John Lucy IV, medical marijuana expert Dr. Sandra Camacho MD, and Oregon Medical Marijuana Program Manager Tawana Nichols. Attendance is accredited for 2.0 CLE credits for legal professionals.
And of course, there is the Awards Banquet. Twenty-eight Oregon medical marijuana patients have been carefully evaluating 1g samples of medical cannabis grown in Oregon by state-registered growers. The patients rate the medicine on its time to onset, medical efficacy, medical potency, and duration of relief. This information, combined with the patients' listed medical condtitions, help others in the community to know which strains and growing methods will best alleviate their symptoms.
Judges also rate the cannabis on connoisseur qualities like appearance, taste, aroma, and smoothness. Ribbons are given for the top-rated samples in each category (but only if the sample doesn't qualify for a trophy). The top five overall samples win ribbons, while the top three also receive a stunning crystal trophy.
ornorml.org -
Thank you.