phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES NOV 3RD–NOV 9TH, 2022 State Licensed Dispensaries & Doctor Certifications | CANNABIS | Bong Wars The Errl Cup delivered a weekend of cannabeasts, competitions and pop-up smoke shops. BY MIKE MADRIAGA B ong Wars. Vape Wars. Joint- rollng contests. The Errl Cup offered something for everyone, from cannabeasts to casual users, during the two-day festival of competitions, pop-up smoke shops, merch, and more. Organizers said the biannual event, held October 22 and 23 at the Scarizona Scaregrounds in Mesa, attracted a crowd of 10,000 to 15,000 people and was “focused on consumer appreciation and dispensary accountability.” But also, the contests. Errl Cup — “errl” being slang for “oil” or cannabis concen- trate — hosts a slew of competitions over the weekend, including Vape Wars and Errl Wars, based on the fastest consump- tion times in the vape and oil methods. Then there was the fastest joint-rolling contest, as well as Bong Wars. “This is the finale for Bong Wars,” an Errl Cup referee yelled into a megaphone on October 22. “The last two [competitors are] Marco and Bat Bong.” “Who can smoke the weed fastest,” according to Errl Cup staff member Lauren Wysner, is what the Bong Wars is all about. “And they must get rid of all the green [weed] and clear the bong out.” Bong Wars, a single-elimination tourna- ment, includes a judge for each contestant who ensures the weed provided to each contestant is placed and packed inside the bowl and not discarded. “We have our judges around closely watching it until we know there’s no more green [weed] in there and it’s ash,” Wysner Vendors offered complimentary bong rips. Mike Madriaga said. The first smoker who clears all their weed and smoke is the winner. For the bong contest, local cultivator Farm Fresh Organics sponsored the Blue Dream flower, which is a sativa-dominant hybrid marijuana strain with about 18 percent THC, according to one of the judges. But by the time some of the 32 Bong Wars competitors made it to the contest, they were already super blitzed after making the rounds of the booths that were providing complimentary bong rips, dab-rig hits, and THC-infused edibles. Lines had formed at Temp Labs, Genesis, Dime Industries, Mint Cannabis, Aeriz, Drip, and Shango. Before Bong Wars got underway, one competitor bowed out and didn’t respond when the judges called her name. Another person passed out and received medical assistance. “It’s the heat,” said Errl Cup co-founder Jim Morrison. “[Sometimes] they don’t know the dab amount that they take.” But the festival had medical staff on hand and a booth area called “If You Medicate Designate” where attendees were given free rides home. Morrison said he started the booth six years ago.”We want to make sure everybody’s taken care of,” he added. Mike, a competitor in the semifinal round of Bong Wars, told Phoenix New Times that he lost because “it was a lot of fucking weed.” In the first round, competi- tors smoked .25 grams; that amount grew to .5 grams in the second round. By the semifinals, they had to smoke 1 gram of Blue Dream flower. At that point, finalists had already smoked a few bowls of weed. “It’s definitely a lot,” said Joseph Freeland, who goes by Bat Bong and competed in the finals. “It’s like a blunt size if you roll it in papers. Imagine smoking one that size in around a minute’s time.” Freeland said it’s his third time competing in Bong Wars. His history with the contest dates back to when it started in 2019. “I’m not going to lie. I got smoked the very first round,” he said of the inau- gural event. >> p 41 39
