St Vincent & the Grenadines Cannabis Cup
A contest announced in late 2023 as the country's first Cannabis Cup, set up to put traditional growers in the spotlight.
- 10results on record
- 2023years in our data
- 1editions
- 2matched to strains
- Pier 1, Kingstown, SVGlatest location
01How it began
On 24 November 2023, the Vincentian newspaper Searchlight reported that St Vincent and the Grenadines was about to hold its first Cannabis Cup1. The hosts were a co-operative, the Alternative Holistic & Organic Co-operative Society LTD (AHOCS), working with a company called CannaSVG1. The stated aim was to let traditional farmers show off their cultivation skills, so the event was pitched as a stage for the country's established local growers1.
The people who spoke to Searchlight were AHOCS members Josiah Cuffy, Utamu "Bongo Prime" Rose and Taffarel Thompson, along with AHOCS president Conley Rose1. Cuffy called the event a kind of "freedom day" for cannabis, meant to reduce stigma now that the country has medicinal cannabis1. The plan was a village-style gathering at Pier 1 on 10 December, with performances by local artistes1. The article gives no year for that date, but it was published in 2023, so 10 December 2023 is the likely reading.
02The story
The contest had four entry categories: Indica, Sativa and Hybrid flowers, plus Hash1. Four awards were announced, each judging a different quality: Best Buds for appearance, Best Aroma for smell, Best Taste for how smoothly it burns, and Best High for strength1. Larger investors, with Medicinal named as one example, were invited to attend but would not compete against the traditional growers. They were to have a separate category of their own, so the traditional growers stayed the focus1.
Some national background helps explain why traditional growers got top billing. According to Wikipedia, commercial cannabis cultivation in the islands began in the 1970s, helped by a hilly, hard-to-reach volcanic interior, rich soil and many often-empty islands2. Many early cultivators were young people who had worked on banana farms until falling prices brought down that industry2. Growers later formed alliances modelled on the Banana Growers' Association, and by 2000 the crop was estimated at US$40 million, more than bananas2. This is the country's history, not the Cup's.
The legal picture changed in 2018. An amendment to the Drugs (Prevention of Misuse) Act, passed on 25 July 2018, replaced jail with a fine of up to $500 for possession of 56 grams or less2. On 11 December 2018, Parliament passed two Acts: one setting up a Medical Cannabis Industry and one offering amnesty to traditional growers2. The Plant Breeders' Protection Bill, 2019 followed, protecting the intellectual property of people who breed new plant varieties in the country2.
03Culture and scene
Searchlight said the event would have a lounge area where licensed consumers could use THC products, with CBD products for people without a licence1. AHOCS described itself as an organisation working on agriculture and the environment that also supports selling cannabis on the market, and it planned a stall with literature and products at the event1.
The Cup arrived in a scene that was already growing. Greenhouse Café opened on 6 May 2022 at Coconut Grove in Ratho Mill and is billed as the first cannabis consumption lounge in the Eastern Caribbean3. A separate 420 Cannabis Fair, held on 20 April and reported on 4 May 2023, brought together traditional farmers, cultivation companies, the Medicinal Cannabis Authority, the local analytical laboratory, artisans and artists3. The report is inconsistent about whether the fair took place in 2022 or 2023. Its guests included members of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Cannabis Revival Committee, a traditional farmer committee3. That fair was a different event from the Cup.
04Where things stand
The most recent dated source in our research is the Searchlight report of 24 November 2023, and at that point the Cup had not yet happened1. Our sources say nothing about what happened next. We have no record of whether the 10 December gathering went ahead, who won, how many growers entered or whether the event is still running. Until a later report turns up, all we can say is that the Cup was announced, and its outcome is not recorded here.
05What's next
We found no announced plans for later editions in the sources we reviewed. The Searchlight article describes one upcoming event and does not mention a regular schedule, future venues or expansion1. If AHOCS or CannaSVG have shared plans elsewhere, we have not seen them, so we have left this open rather than guess.
The results, in our data
CannaLib holds 10 results from this cup across 1 years (2023 to 2023), 2 of them matched to a strain in the catalogue.
Recent first-place strains
| Year | Strain | Category | Entrant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Killer Kush | Indica | McDonald Simmons |
| 2023 | Headway | Hybrid | Danladi Lewis |
Editions on record
- 2023 · Pier 1, Kingstown, SVG
Sources
- Traditional marijuana farmers to host 'Cannabis Cup' (Searchlight, 24 November 2023)
- Cannabis in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (Wikipedia)
- History created again as first 420 cannabis fair held in SVG (One News SVG, 4 May 2023)
Written from the sources above and checked on 2026-10-29. Spot an error? Tell us on the contact page.