In 1988, the first High Times Cannabis Cup was held in Amsterdam and became an annual cultural event in the United States and internationally. Next month, it will be celebrated in Montana for the first time. 

The Covid-19 pandemic halted the celebration for years, but it made its return in 2025 in New York City. This September, thanks to the so-called mother of Montana cannabis, Tara Holloway, the Cannabis Cup is coming to Billings.  

Holloway, a mother of six whose youngest graduated from Whitefish High School last spring, was born in Great Falls and moved to the Flathead Valley when she was 8 years old. 

She is also the president of the Montana Cannabis Industry Association and has been advocating for patients and local producers for over 20 years. 

After suffering from a spinal hemorrhage while she was seven months pregnant, she was prescribed narcotics, but was hesitant to take them. 

"I really didn't want my child to be born addicted to narcotics and have withdrawals," she said. "I had seen other people in the community ... maybe they got in a work accident or a car accident and had seen their life change after they had gotten on narcotics, and I didn't want that to be me, as well. 

"I was able to get off having to use pain medications and use medical cannabis which definitely was a lot better for me because I'm super sensitive to narcotics," Holloway added. "I still do have neurological pain, and I can't feel anything really in my right arm, but I can walk and take care of my family and work and all the things." 

Holloway decided to try the medical marijuana program in 2008. Soon after, she worked at a medical marijuana clinic which she eventually owned. Federal raids of marijuana facilities in 2010, despite voters approving the legalized medical marijuana in 2004, sparked the formation of the Montana Cannabis Industry Association. 

"After these federal raids we earned enough money via grassroots efforts and donation jars at the dispensaries and passing around hats at meetings, to hire an attorney and sue the state of Montana to keep medical marijuana in Montana because they were trying to repeal it and get rid of it, even though the voters voted for it," Holloway said. "We ended up having to vote for it several times." 

Holloway was part of the charge to make the state realize that voters did, indeed, know what they wanted. 

ALL MARIJUANA products sold in Montana must be made and produced in Montana, and all of it moves through METRC, a seed to sale software tracking program. Additionally, samples from every batch go to a testing facility to ensure it is safe for consumption before being offered for sale. 

"[Testing also confirms] there's no mold, mildew, residual from nutrients or pesticides ... no heavy metals," Holloway said. "It's tested more than the food that we buy at the grocery store."  

Fidelity Diagnostics in Missoula is the state's testing facility. It also determines the sample's percentage of THC, presence of CBD and other cannabinoids, as well as terpene levels. 

Today, Holloway helps people navigate the process of securing medical marijuana cards and renewals through her Kalispell-based business, Alternative Wellness 406.  

"Medical marijuana is generally taxed at 4%. Each county had the option to add a 3% excise tax. In the Flathead, we added it to recreational and not to medical," Holloway explained, adding that consumers of recreational marijuana pay a 23% tax. 

Medical marijuana card holders are also able to have the product delivered. 

"A lot of these people are on hospice or bedrest, or maybe it's a lot harder for them to get around, so they're allowed to have a delivery," she said. "They are also allowed to have a more potent cannabis than the average recreational consumer. Not all of them need it by any means, but some of them might." 

Holloway is proud of her work to ensure patients and consumers have access to safe marijuana. 

"We've just kept up the good fight in Montana, and here we are in a recreational market in a place where we have brought in over $1 billion of tax revenue for our state," she said. "We have brought in as much revenue as alcohol has brought in our state, on an annual basis." 

"WHEN I WAS YOUNGER, I definitely did use cannabis and I always thought it would be really amazing to go to Amsterdam to where they do the High Times Cannabis Cup," she said. "I thought this would be amazing if they would come to Montana, now that we have such a great program and it's been going for a long time." 

Holloway sent an email, letting organizers at the magazine know about the state's cannabis industry and said Montana would love to host the Cup.  

High Times representatives agreed, so the Pub Station in Billings will host the Cannabis Cup on Sept. 5. In addition to the awards ceremony, there will be several live bands, a climbing wall, glass blowing and vendors. 

More than 80 marijuana producers from Montana, including 11 from the Flathead Valley, are competing in eleven categories including flowers, concentrates, pre-rolls and edibles. Two Whitefish dispensaries, Montana Kush and Haskill Farm's Cannabis Counter, are competing in the Cup. 

The people's choice format allowed people to buy official entries from participating producers and vote online for qualities like aesthetics, aroma, taste and effects. 

"It's a huge thing that High Times is coming to Montana, in my opinion," Holloway said. "It'll be very cool for all the people that have been through this fight to keep cannabis in Montana for the consumers, as well." 

Reporter Julie Engler can be reached at 406-862-3505 or [email protected]. If you value local journalism, pledge your support at whitefishpilot.com/support.    High Times' Cannabis Cup comes to Montana for the first time on Sept. 5 in Billings. (Photo provided)