The Government Fights “Legal Weed”

393428921.jpg“Weed” is the name of a small town in California with about 3,000 residents (people who live there). “Weed” is also a slang or informal term for marijuana, an illegal plant whose leaves are dried and smoked. “Weed” is the name of a beer made by a small brewery (factory where beer is made) in the city of Weed that is in trouble with the U.S. Government.

The reason the company is in trouble is that the company uses the slogan (short phrase to sell a product) on its beer bottle caps that reads: “Try Legal Weed.” The government says that the slogan is talking about using marijuana, which is illegal, and has told the company to stop using the slogan. If it doesn’t, the company could be fined (punished by having to pay money) or be sanctioned (legally not allowed to do certain things).

The man who owns the brewery says that he used the slogan only to grab (to get) attention. Besides, he says, the town was named after a man named Abner Weed who founded (started) the town, and not after the marijuana plant.

According to the government agency, the label is a problem because:
“We consider it to be a drug reference (saying one thing when you mean something else), and find it to be false (not true) and misleading (giving the wrong idea) to the consumer in terms of what may or may not be the properties (characteristics; parts) contained within that product…”

What do the people of the town think?

“It’s just plain goofy (silly) to me the federal government is making so much of a fuss (unnecessary excitement and interest) over this,” said Chuck Sutton, Weed’s mayor (elected leader of the town). “I can sort of (partly; kind of) understand their point, but it all seems a little overboard (too much).”

Read the full story from the Los Angeles Times.

~ Lucy

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6 Responses to The Government Fights “Legal Weed”

  1. Gulls says:

    The brewery “WEED” (David) is probably economically insignificant for the Government and the large companies (Goliath).
    It is hair-splitting.
    Politics and big business are inseparably linked.
    Crimes committed by large companies are rarely punished.

  2. emiliano says:

    Agree with what Gulls says, that’s the truth, and if it is not so in this matter, I agree with Chuck Sutton so much a fuss over it.
    If I were there and get a beer it’s sure that I’ll take a Weed just to support that little company or to do the contrary of
    what government says. Even more, marijuana may be good in some therapeutic treatments to mitigate pain in m.s. or other
    deceases. I do not really know how so many punishment about maria (that’s the name of the drug here ) and not against other drugs as tobacco, alcohol, which are much more dangerous, but they are legal and all Governments all over the world take a lot of taxes from them.
    Always the same song, which ever place you go……alcohol is bad, tobacco is bad…..but we Governments take a lot of money from them and don’t forbid the free consumption.
    (sorry about the mistakes, i’m trying to write without seeing the dictionary)

  3. Matteo says:

    Being in the news could just turn out to be a blessing for this small brewery. The fuss around this story may actually increase, instead of capping the sales of this Beer. Besides if the company says “this is legal weed”, than it implicitly admits that there is another kind of weed that is not legal at all. Who would expect to find real marijuana into a bottle of beer ?

  4. Grzegorz says:

    Like they say: “bad publicity is better than no publicity”
    And as a farmer, I must appeal:
    Let’s weed the weed or at least spray, and then burn. Inhaling strictly prohibited ๐Ÿ˜‰

  5. Valery says:

    It’s obvious the producer of the beer uses the slogan by understanding very well that people pay attention to it only because of the word ‘weed’. Equivocacy is a keystone of the most advertising companies we can see around, and it’s a right way since people always react as it is expected.

  6. Loe says:

    Hello,

    I think it’s a great slogan ๐Ÿ˜€ I’m curious though (or thou, always forget what it is…) where Abner Weed’s name comes from.
    This beer wouldn’t sell to good in the Netherlands though (or thou again :P) because weed is actually legal ๐Ÿ˜€
    I mean, it’s 18+ bot no one listens to that, or at least, the people who I know don’t. Does anyone actually know why weed is illegal and alcohol isn’t while alcohol is an hard drug (the experts say it:D) and marijuana is a soft drug, I think it’s strange so many people drink alcohol but are scared and stuff about weed.

    I’m going to learn for tests, good night all.

    Loe

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