In December, 2017, Playboy flew me to Northern California to attend the last edition of The Emerald Cup — sometimes called “The Oscars of Weed” — before legalization kicked in on January 1st, to report on how the state’s transition to adult-use cannabis legalization was affecting the actual pot farmers. The four-page print feature includes interviews with Tim Blake (founder of The Emerald Cup), Swami Select, marijuana maestro Brandon Scott Parker (Third Gen/Dying Breed Seeds), and Chris Anderson (Redwood Roots). All photos by Carlos Chavarria.