A new directive from Oregon’s legal weed governing body, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC), will ban at least 11 strain names from dispensary shelves, citing misleading nomenclature and marketing to minors.
The statement, titled “Clarification on Strain Names,” is not a set of new rules, but instead a reminder to Oregon’s pot shops about the type of names they are not allowed to display in store. In addition to the 11 strains named, any store that continues to sell bud by other names that don’t meet the outlined criteria are also fair game for OLCC sanctions.
“A label cannot contain any words that refer to products that are commonly associated with minors, marketed by minors, or any names that are false or misleading.” The OLCC notice reads.
The strain names specifically banned from Oregon dispensaries are: Incredible Hulk, Ewok, Optimus Prime, Lightsaber, Any Girl Scout Cookie (Thin Mints, Dosidos, etc.) Frosted Flakes, Lucky Charms, Skittles, Green Crack, Opium and Special K.
Specifically, Oregon has banned any weed sold under “names of children’s toys or any character or other item in a children’s book, TV show, or movie, food products marketed to or by children.”
The state isn’t banning the specific strains themselves, but pot shops will now need to find new names for some of their most popular strains. And we’re guessing replacing “Incredible Hulk” with “Green Bruce Banner” and “Lucky Charms” with “Magically Delicious” won’t cut it.
For brands in the legal weed industry selling bud named after trademarked characters or products, the new guidelines could be a veiled godsend, especially in the face of a recent lawsuit brought by Gorilla Glue against Nevada’s GG Strains over the weed of the same name. After all, if you’re not selling THC-laden “Frosted Flakes,” Tony the Tiger can’t testify against you in court.
