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Goodbye, Grape Ape: Oregon Bans Kid-Friendly Strain Names

Marijuana seedlings growing indoors.

Oregon strain aficionados may be saying goodbye to some of their favorite strain names, under new rules announced last week by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC). The Commission passed a temporary rule that clarifies the restrictions on product wording associated with products marketed by or to children. Goodbye, Bruce Banner. So long, GSC (f.k.a Girl Scout Cookies).

State law allows the Commission to regulate cannabis strain names that they deem attractive to minors. The new rule directs OLCC staff to restrict a narrow set of strains that refer to cartoon characters, or names associated with toys and or games marketed to or by children. Companies that have products with the names on it will not be subject to immediate enforcement, said OLCC Executive Director Steve Marks. He said the agency will help inform companies so they can screen out future packaging that contains the names.

After reviewing about 500 cannabis strain names, OLCC staff narrowed the cut list to fewer than 20 strains. The OLCC will work with the industry to correct both packaging and labeling compliance issues.

If you are in Oregon, look out for more guidance and lists of suspect names that will be regulated like the list below from the OLCC, as they will work on these issues as it finalizes its overall permanent rules later this year.

Licensees can also submit strain names to marijuana.packaging@oregon.com to seek guidance on this “attractiveness to children” standard. The full list of banned names, with explanations from the OLCC, can be found in the table below:

Example
RATIONALE	STRAIN/MARKETING PHRASE	DERIVATIVE STRAINS	NOTES
Marketed by & Marketed to Children	Girl Scout Cookies	Platinum Girl Scout Cookies, Thin Mint GSC	Cookies sold primarily door to door by the youth organization the Girl Scouts of America
Marketed to Children	Grape Ape		Children's cartoon character produced by Hanna Barbera
Marketed to Children	Candyland		Child's board game by Hasbro
Marketed to Children	Charlotte's Web		Children's book by E.B. White
Marketed to Children	Cinderella	Cinderella 99	Children's storybook character
Marketed to Children	Dr. Who		Fictional character currently marketed to children including cartoon show
Marketed to Children	Bubblelicous		Bubblegum specifically marketed directly to children
Marketed to Children	Smurf	Smurfette, Smurf Pussy	Children's cartoon characters and popular franchise
Marketed to Children	Bruce Banner	Bruce Banner #3, GG#4/Bruce Banner	Alter ego of popular Marvel children's cartoon character the Hulk
Marketed to Children	Death Star		Reference to the popular Star Wars franchise marketed to children
Marketed to Children	Skywalker	Skywalker OG	Reference to the popular Star Wars franchise marketed to children
Marketed to Children	Jedi Kush		Reference to the popular Star Wars franchise marketed to children
Contains Untruthful or Misleading Content	LSD		Is the common street name for illegal drug if contained in the package would constitute adulterated content.
Contains Untruthful or Misleading Content	Blow		Is the common street name for illegal drug if contained in the package would constitute adulterated content.

Industry Oregon strains

Gage Peake

Gage Peake is a former staff writer for Leafly, where he specialized in data journalism, sports, and breaking news coverage. He's a graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's College of Journalism and Mass Communications.

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Sniglet66

Government handling of cannabis has exposed levels of stupidity among its members like nothing I’ve ever seen before. I am sick to death of our leaders spending time on crap like this – what ever happened to parents taking responsibility for their kids? When I started smoking weed way back when, as a teen, it had NO NAME! It was just “Weed” – that’s the only name that counted.

Let’s be consistent here – no more gummy bear vitamins (liver damage from overdoses), no more wine coolers, no more mixed drinks so sweet young women have no clue the amount of alcohol they are consuming, and let’s put a stop to such things like Caramel Birthday Cake flavored vodka. And lets stop importing fruity cleaning products from Mexico – have you seen some of the scents these products come in? Passion Fruit, Cinnamon….
- Bongstar420
  
  What ever happened to adults behaving like adults? Maybe you should consider that these names are propagated due to the immature nature of some consumers.
- Big Killa
  
  Just like a Democrats, to make a words illegal to use in the selling of some bad ass Marijuana names, but it will only effect Oregon. Kids aren’t stupid. Although just like a Democrat to want to control something as minut as a products name that the product is already illegal Federally. That’s why government, especially political correct Progressive Democrats shouldn’t be involved in private business other than making sure everything is safe & not connected to criminal organizations.
D wise

CONTROL AND PROFIT
BUY THE IGNORANT
LETS APPLY THAT STANDARD TO ALL THINGS
ANYONE NOTICE THE GRADUAL IN CRESS OF PRODUCT
IT IS GREED FROM THE TOP DOWN
- Bongstar420
  
  Remember Camel?
  
  Derp. You got it backwards. The marketing in childish imagery is for control and profit
DON SHANKS

It doesn’t change anything but the name of the strain. Do you actually think kids will reduce their intake of Marijuana products? NO, it will not slow them down unless they have parents who care for their kids. Wasting taxpayers dollars on something as stupid as this is simply what it is, wasting taxpayer dollars. BTW I’m 67, how do 21-30 year olds think of this? Government controlling names of cannabis. Dumb.
- Bongstar420
  
  Why should items marketed to adults have any commonalities with marketing gimmicks aimed at children?
  
  Are they still children?
  
  As a 33yo, I think this is all childish….on both sides really
  - BarleySinger
    
    Well I’m 53 (since you are quoting your age) and you haven’t a clue. This is about social control, and it is a bad slippery slope.
    
    There is this rather old (but no longer popular in the USA) idea called “freedom of speech” which this infringes on. It is part of the Bill of Rights. I realise gutting the constitution is popular thing to do right now (16 years and 2 president, one president from each big party, now on president #3 and they are still gutting it more). A Constitution? Basic Rights? Nah, who needs it. Ignore it all and just toss the whole thing aside based on ridiculous fear campaigns, so you can be “safe” (which has the opposite effect).
    
    Oh heavens, somewhere somebody vibrated the air wrong, we must go into a tizzy. They are wearing the wrong clothing, we must send them home from school.
    
    As for the names being childish or aimed at kids, some of the cartoons in question are OLD (and were not popular enough to make it into syndication so they did not stick around). They are too old to even be known to today’s kids. How many 11 year olds are there who have heard of “The Grape Ape Show” or “Jose and the Pussycats”? There are a lot of fans (of all ages) of various types of media.
    
    Ever hear of “Adult Swim”? Anime? How about these animated titles?
    
    Maria Holic, Moto to Love Ru, Avatar, Star vs the Forces of Evil, Adventure Time, Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt, Stripperella, Robot Chicken, Rick and Morty, Back Butler, Full Metal Alchemist, Stephen Universe, Regular Show, Family Guy, American Dad, Code Geaas, King of the Hill, Southpark, Aqua Team Hunger Force, Ben 10, Blade of the Immortal, RWBY, Ghost in the Shell, Danny Phantom, Kill La Kill, Invader Zim …
    
    Just because it is animated doesn’t mean it is aimed SOLELY at a child audience (or at a child audience at all – hentai – eew). Also, most of today’s cartoons are nothing like older ones, and are aimed at a cross section of fans, including a lot of older people. A huge number of cartoons are made to be entertaining to people of all ages, with message (more complicated ones) and content (perhaps a bit racy) that is aimed at the older viewers. Hell even Animaniacs did that.
    
    And can somebody explain to me how exactly is too attractive to kids to name a cannabis strain “Grape Ape” almost 40 years after the show went off the air. Things get names all sorts of ways. There is a tomato variety called “Baby Bottle”, one called “mortgage raiser” and another one called called “… “Dacquiri” (that last tomato plant must be a threat to the kiddies too).
Ron1127

Don’t worry, alcoholics!
In Oregon you still can buy liquor that looks like water.
- Jim Jackson
  
  Don’t forget the (rough estimate at my local OLCC store) 20% of all shelf space is fruit flavored Vodka which will make drinking their parents booze very tolerable to young taste buds. Why isn’t that restricted? Not only naming and fruity pictures (same kind of pictures that are on drink boxes that every kid in the country consume on a daily bases) but actually tastes like the drinks? I’ll tell you why, liqueur industry contributions to our state politicians.
  - Bongstar420
    
    They allow edibles to be sold with fruit on the package…not saying it isn’t dumb
    
    This product sells its self if you have real quality. Allowing marketing gimmicks isn’t necessary and really should be frowned upon. People should be able to buy products without being influenced by marketing.
Jim Jackson

This is absolutely ridiculous!! The name of a cannabis strain is part of its identity. What happens when someone here in Oregon can’t find “Charlotte’s Web” to help treat their child with epilepsy because that name has been outlawed! BTW, the “Charlotte’s Web” strain was the first strain that helped an epileptic child decrease the number of seizures she had to endure on a daily bases. That young ladies name was Charlotte. I guess that major development in the medical marijuana history will simply be forgotten because some politician has a bug up his a$$. Since this wasn’t part of the original initiative I’m assuming there was someone in the Oregon legislature that sponsored this stupid law. If it’s someone that I can vote out I’ll do it!! BTW, depending on how the legislature was worded it’s very possible that the OLCC was forced to implement this useless law.
- Bongstar420
  
  If you are legit, looking for a particular chemotype is where it is at. In this case, it would be a 20:1 CBD:THC chemotype.
  
  Names are just names
BURN THE WITCH

Say Goodbye to Godiva Liqueur… Oh wait, that’s alcohol, so that’s probably ok right – F A I L
- Bongstar420
  
  Look at the bottles. They have zero appeal to a child based on common marketing gimmicks.
Bongstar420

Charolettes Web has about 1% THC and 15-20% CBD.