THCmania : An Anthropological Exploration of the First Legal Canadian Grow Cup

Abstract

This thesis is an anthropological exploration of the first legal Canadian Grow Cup (3 years after legalization (October 17, 2018)). It takes a sensory anthropology approach to 'knowing' from practical activity. This approach acknowledges that senses/sensing do not belong to one category, instead, "our sensory perception is inextricable from the cultural categories that we use to give meaning to sensory experiences in social and material interactions" (Pink 2015, 7). Taking this approach aims to address the current legal framework that reduces cannabis to its molecular compounds. The methodological approach is centred around an apprenticeship with an experienced home grower, whom I met online and who agreed to guide me throughout my participation in the grow cup. The organization of the thesis follows my movements through the apprenticeship situated both online and in my mentor's garden in West Ottawa, Ontario. Having to abide by winning criteria based on THC and Terpene metrics, this thesis offers arguments and critique of the current conjoint legal/ public health/ industry framework. The latter framework is in line with mainstream pharmacology, which advocates the need to use purified substances as they are considered more specific and safe. However, I critique this approach of 'knowing' cannabis through the cannabis cup as the "effects" and quality of whole derived cannabis products are quantified and standardized based on a percentage number associated with two out of 100+ molecular compounds. This creates a new phenomenon, shaping cultivation practices focused on single molecule percentage numbers. Therefore, I ask how does a skilled home grower know/sense cannabis, and how does the contest criteria constrain (or not) the home grower's ways of knowing/ sensing cannabis? Answering these questions aims to understand the sensorial ways of knowing cannabis. As such, this thesis does not deal with standardization or metrics directly. Instead, attention is oriented towards what escapes the contest-winning criteria and standardization, my curiosity resting in ways of 'knowing' directly from what is evoked through practical activity.