The 3rd annual National Cannabis Championship is well underway with growers from DC, Maryland and Virginia vying for the highest honors — the NCC Grand Champion Award.

To help us narrow down the entries and do the tough job of tasting and analysis, we’ve assembled a diverse list of cannabis experts from small farmers and small business owners to cultivation luminaries and hip-hop legends. Keep reading for a list of the lucky judges that get to assess DMV’s best cannabis cultivators, including our Community Judge Winners!

FINALS JUDGES

Reginald Noble aka Redman

“I am in no way a politician. I am a true believer in the industry and the pioneers that continue to build it!”

Reginald Noble (born April 1970), better known by his stage name Redman, is an American rapper, DJ, record producer, and actor. He rose to fame in the early 1990s as an artist on the Def Jam label. He is well known for his collaborations with his close friend Method Man, as one-half of the rap duo Method Man & Redman, including their starring roles in films and sitcoms. He was also a member of the Def Squad in the late 1990s.

In 2021, Redman co-founded the United Empowerment Party with the mission to advocate for fair and equitable policy and legislation in the cannabis industry.

Join Redman in the Culture Pavilion on Saturday at 3:30pm as he talks about his life, music and cannabis advocacy.

Dr. Chanda Macias 

Dr. Chanda Macias, MBA  is the CEO of National Holistic Healthcare, the medical marijuana cultivator, processor and dispenser in multiple states.  

Dr. Macias focuses on delivering affordable medical marijuana healthcare options. Dr. Macias has spent 15+ years developing her knowledge of medical marijuana to have a positive impact on patient lives. She contributes growth to the market through education on ailment strain alignment, aligning a medical marijuana strain with a specific condition or ailment. Dr. Macias started her career in the flagship medical marijuana dispensary in Washington DC, National Holistic™ Healing Center (nationalholistic.com) in Dupont Circle.

DC Scroger

A legend on the East Coast growing scene, DC Scroger’s alias derives from “scrogging,” a growing technique that maximizes yield per plant—helpful for pot growers in DC, where residents are restricted to six flowering plants apiece. More than just a canna-personality, Scroger teaches classes for serious homegrowers, throws “Bring Your Own Bucket” soil-mixing parties, and hosts clone shares throughout the region. 

Make sure to check out DC Scroger on the Grower’s World Stage on Saturday afternoon.

Eugene Monroe

Eugene Monroe was born and raised in Plainfield, NJ. He accepted a full football scholarship to the University of Virginia, graduating 3.5 years later and becoming the Jacksonville Jaguar's 2009 1st Round Draft Pick.  He played 7 years in the NFL, and later injuries and opioid prescriptions would lead him to research medical cannabis as a healthy alternative. He finished his NFL career in Baltimore and entered the cannabis industry as an investor, co-founding Green Thumb Industries.  He is also the founder of Heart Community Capital where he’s developed brands for black owned cannabis companies, and Collective where his collective of friends and cannabis pioneers look to enter the East Coast markets. 

Neil 2023 NCC Champion

Neil was born in DC, and grew up in PG County (and overseas).  He moved back to the District as a young adult and later to Northern California.  What he loves most about cannabis cultivation is the joy of guiding plants to develop to their most beautiful full expressions of themselves, and seeing the variety of those expressions in the different strains.  He also loves the connection to life through the soil.  When sharing best practices with novice growers, he reminds them to educate themselves about the biology of plants and to be meticulous about every aspect of the grow.

Early on, Neil’s cultivation heroes included Mel Frank and Ed Rosenthal.  More recently, he’s added Jeff Lowenfels and Jim Bennett (Clackamas Coot) to his list of cultivation luminaries.  

When asked what excites him most about being a NCC Finals Judge Neil said, “What excites me most is getting to meet other like-minded people in the industry.”  

You can read more about Neil here.

VIRGINIA JUDGES

Barbara Biddle

Barbara Biddle is an entrepreneur, mom and community leader. Barbara discovered CBD while dealing with postpartum depression-like symptoms and soon began incorporating CBD into her wellness routine. She was so impressed by the positive impact that CBD had on her well-being that she decided she wanted to bring it to the DC area. 

Biddle’s commitment to a positive and well-informed customer experience has set the tone for the company. Each product sold undergoes third-party testing and customers are encouraged to return any products at any time if they aren’t 100% satisfied. In addition to growing District Hemp Botanicals, Biddle is focused on creating regulatory safeguards for small businesses in the CBD industry, supporting research and physician education of the endocannabinoid system, and advocating for consumer safety.

Anthony Mijares

Anthony is the owner of Old Manchester Hemp and serves on the Board of Virginia NORML. He is also a U.S. Army Veteran who served 8 years as a Combat Medic during several combat tours in Kosovo, Iraq, Kuwait, Korea and several other countries.

Originally from Florida, he and his family currently reside in Richmond, VA where he is an energetic enterprise-builder, serial entrepreneur, industry thought-leader, jobs creator and community champion. In addition to Old Manchester Hemp Co., Anthony currently owns Signscapes, Inc., a 12-year-old physical branding agency, Kloud Enterprise, AKA Old Manchester Hemp Co. and Old Manchester Cannabis Co. He is a partner in Pesos Management, the top-performing company in the gaming industry, and a partner in abZorb, LLC an emerging market leader in distribution of hemp protein products for consumers interested in athletic recovery and women’s health and wellness.

Anthony is a member and advocate for the VA Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and a graduate of ECPI University where he earned his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and serves as a featured spokesperson in their marketing campaigns. Mr. Mijares is also an advocate for Military Veteran mental health, social equity, and small business rights in the cannabis industry.

COMMUNITY JUDGE WINNER: ROMANZE WILLOUGHBY

Congratulations Romanze Willoughby, winner of the Virginia State Community Judge Contest! Romanze resides in Virginia Beach,Virginia. He’s a Pro Bassist/Vocalist, Bass Instructor & Musical Director at School of Rock by day, and a proud home cultivator in his free time.

Known on social media as “The Black Cannasseur,” Romanze provided us with one of the most enthusiastic descriptions about his love for cannabis that we’ve ever had the pleasure to read: “I love cannabis like I love my mom, kids, granddaughter, music, women and the Pittsburgh Steelers!”

As well as being enthusiastic about cannabis, he has a ton of experience working with farmers and in a variety of retail roles in the regulated cannabis industry. Starting in Denver, he was a Trimmer for Verde Natural Dispensaries to Trim Manager at Southwest Alternative Care and Kaya Cannabis Dispensaries to Cannabis Extraction Technician at LivWell Dispensaries, Upon leaving Denver, at the age of 48, he was so dedicated to learning more about cannabis that he slept in his car for 3 months in order to stay and work for farmers in Humboldt County (don’t worry, eventually he returned to Virginia!) to conduct extensive cannabis farming, production, manufacturing and sales research. He got the chance to mingle with lots of local Humboldt County farmers, farm hands, extraction technicians and cannabis brokers. Romanze knows a lot about cannabis from seed to sale!

You can learn more about Romanze by visiting his Instagram page.

WASHINGTON, D.C. JUDGES

Alan Amsterdam

Alan Amsterdam the owner of Capitol Hemp, a retail store in Washington, D.C., is D.C.'s first certified Ganjier®. The Cannabis Ganjier Certification program aims to create highly trained, certified experts that raise the standards of excellence within the cannabis industry. All students of the program learn to examine and explore all aspects of cannabis, including the history, science, botany, genetics, cultivation, processing, sale, and consumption.

Following many months of extensive studies with some of the industry's leading cannabis professionals, Amsterdam scored 100% on the written examination. The practical examination included the application of two new industry standards: "Systematic Assessment ProtocolTM" to assess and grade cannabis product as well as the "Customer Interaction ProtocolTM".

Driven by the need to provide an effective non-pharmaceutical therapeutic solution to an ill-stricken family member, Amsterdam never gave up his pursuit of cannabis science for medicinal purposes. "The Ganjier certification is the culmination and recognition of years of hard work and legislative obstacles," says Amsterdam. "The USA virtually outlawed a natural botanical remedy, making it almost impossible for anyone to cultivate a therapeutic non-pharmaceutical alternative. Finally, all of the hard work has come to fruition and I'm encouraged that the Ganjier is now an officially recognized qualification."

Jay Mills

Jamila Hogan, publicly known as Jay Mills, is the first woman of color to manage a cultivation center on the east coast. She is the founder of The Green Life Learning Center, an international cannabis education company specializing in professional employee training standards for cannabis businesses. She is the author of the Cannabis Reference Manual, a three book series that covers the science of cannabis in the body, understanding archetypes, and cultivation basics. After managing Abatin Wellness cultivation center and then serving as general manager Herbal Alternatives, a DC dispensary, she decided to focus on creating opportunities for educating the community and being a catalyst connecting new brands in the cannabis industry to better serve their needs.

COMMUNITY JUDGE WINNER: MARIAH MARTIN

Congratulations Mariah Martin, winner of the D.C. Community Judge Contest! Mariah is a cannabis connoisseur and reviewer. Know on Instagram as @smoketalksqueen, she’s educating and entertaining a growing audience of canna-curious and canna-enthusiast fans.

Mariah is from Virginia and moved to DC in early 2021. She works as a budtender and in restaurants around the DC area. In addition, she publishes cannabis reviews on her social media platforms where she provides detailed descriptions of cannabis flowers and the smoking experience.

Mariah loves the smell, look and feel of the flower. She says, “Terpenes are important! It’s almost like reading or seeing what’s on the menu before you actually taste the food. They can tell you a lot about your flower experience.”

Follow Mariah on Instagram to keep up with her work!

MARYLAND JUDGES

Sebi Medina-Tayac

Sebi is the founder of Red Cedar Farms, growing organic sun-grown cannabis and natural leaf tobacco. He is also an environmental justice and indigenous rights activist. 

You can hear Sebi sharing his experience and knowledge about  regenerative agriculture techniques and sun and earth cannabis cultivation on the Grower’s World Stage at NCF.

Kiutza “Miss Q” Cruz

Kiutza “Miss Q” Cruz is the owner of The Brookland Smoke Shop. Over the past 6 years, she’s worked with her team to create an all-encompassing retail experience with an unparalleled range of premium glassware, tobacco, and CBD items. Miss Q is a “homegrown” cannabis expert honing her distinct taste on her own experience and feedback she receives from guests to the store. 

From home cultivation, product manufacturing and creation through the BSS line of products, to advising customers on their smoking accessory needs, Miss Q knows cannabis. When she’s not working with her team at BSS, you can find her promoting Canna-Comedy Shows and NFT experiences.

COMMUNITY JUDGE WINNER: SARAH MEEKER

Congratulations Sarah Meeker, winner of the Maryland State Community Judge Contest! Sarah lives in Baltimore County. She owns a landscaping business and is also a home cultivator and advocate. When she’s not running her business, advocating for her community, or tending to her garden, she likes to help out with cannabis events in the area.

In recent years, Sarah expanded her passion for cannabis by helping patients secure medical cannabis cards and teaching people in her community how to grow at home. other home cultivators.

We asked Sarah what she’d be looking out for in her flower analysis, and here’s what she said:

1. Terpenes. Are they present? What does the flower smell like when I open the jar?What about when I break the nug up and when I taste it?Was it dried and cured properly (lending to a good terpene profile on the nose)?

2. Nug look/structure/feel. Why did they (the grower) pick this specific plant? Is the bug dense? Did they grow it with PGR or was it organically grown?

3. Effect and flavor. Do I feel this behind my eyes immediately after taking a puff? How long does it take to feel the initial onset? Does it feel like a mood enhancer or do I feel it in my body? Does it taste like fertilizer or does it have distinct terpene profile that stands out from others? Does it taste like chloroform “green” or does it have a complex layered flavor profile?

As you can tell, Sarah really knows her stuff! You can learn more about her on Instagram here.

To learn about the 2024 NCC Award categories, click here.

Make sure you’re by the main stage on Friday, April 19, 2024, as we honor the DMV’s best and dankest growers during the National Cannabis Championship Awards Show!