“Legal Weed” Beer is Illegal According to Feds



Vaune Dillmann, a craft brewer from Weed, California, thought that he got a cute marketing gimmick by labeling his beer bottle caps after the name of his town ("Try Legal Weed"). But the Federal alcohol regulators didn't get the humor:

The agency responded that the message on the caps amounted to a drug reference. In a letter explaining its decision, the agency said the wording could "mislead consumers about the characteristics of the alcoholic beverage."

Dillmann scoffs at the notion that his label has anything to do with smoking pot.

"I've never tried marijuana in my life," he told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "I don't advocate that. It's just our town's name."

Apparently, making fun of the town's name is somewhat of a sport with its inhabitants:

A sign posted on the way out of town reads, "Temporarily Out of Weed," while another says "100 Percent Pure Weed." Dillmann noted those examples in an appeal letter he sent to the alcohol bureau, a division of the U.S. Treasury Department.

Once, Dillmann said, his wife, a former teacher, was delayed on a field trip to San Francisco as tourists clamored to pose next to the school bus, which said "Weed High."

Link - via Beyond Madison Avenue

(Photo: Rich Pedroncelli / AP)


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Posted on May 4, 2008 at 6:19 pm by Alex
Category: Food & Drinks, Politics



12 Comments to "“Legal Weed” Beer is Illegal According to Feds"

  • CheeseDuck
    May 4th, 2008 at 7:33 pm

    Hah! Sweet town name.

  • L
    May 4th, 2008 at 8:33 pm

    Weed… Heh, heh, heh…

  • Tempscire
    May 4th, 2008 at 8:38 pm

    Hey, Cocaine was eventually allowed, wasn’t it? Of course, it’s ridiculous that this is an issue at all.

  • Johnny Cat
    May 4th, 2008 at 11:24 pm

    Just when you think the bar has hit its lowest level…what a load of crap.

  • Pooja
    May 4th, 2008 at 11:31 pm

    flippin’ pathetic because there’s an alcoholic beverage (i think it’s beer) named purple haze…

  • TT
    May 5th, 2008 at 1:08 am

    So dumb. Just change the name of the town, and all would be solved.

  • Jon2
    May 5th, 2008 at 8:46 am

    “The agency responded that the message on the caps amounted to a drug reference.”

    lol…alcohol is a drug wtf

  • Steohawk
    May 5th, 2008 at 4:48 pm

    I absolutely condemn the usage and sale of drugs, but I’m also opposed to the war on drugs. It’s a campaign of kidnapping and murder, which is funded by billions of dollars that are stolen from the citizens by the IRS. Now it seems that the US government is using the war on drugs as an excuse to prevent free speech.

  • Cold
    May 5th, 2008 at 7:32 pm

    “But the Federal alcohol regulators didn’t get the humor:”

    Of course not, they don’t want marijuana legal, neither does the DEA or other law enforcement agencies which would lose the millions or billions of dollars of funding. And look at all of those properties and cars which peaceful marijuana smokers and growers would retain rather than have seized for growing a flowering weed.

    Marijuana remains illegal in the “Land of the free” because people remain apathetic, they fear their government, they are afraid to march and protest for fear they will be added to COPLINK (google it for info.) or some other database and be fingered for something.

    “WE THE PEOPLE” and “Land of the free” are nothing now, the government rules the U.S., and the fight for marijuana’s legalization is one small proof.

    Plenty of people take garlic or other herbs for medicinal reasons, and cook with them and use them for other reasons too. But how many people say, “Medical garlic?” even when it has medical uses? We shouldn’t have to legalize “medical marijuana”, we should legalize MARIJUANA. It makes no difference why or how its used, as long as the user isn’t harming anyone else.

    Play some Bill Hicks videos (see YouTube) and open your eyes.

    You are being played. The war on drugs is a joke which benefits big Pharma, DEA, and other involved governmental forces of oppression. Marijuana remains schedule I with no medical beneifts which is a crock of shit!

    How can you stand for this? Why do you continue to allow the federal government to control your life?

    Why does alcohol and tobacco remain legal but marijuana illegal?

    Does NORML even matter anymore, or is their slow progress in legalizing marijuana just proof they were infiltrated and scuttled by law enforcement long ago and rendered ineffective? After all, they failed to support Jack Herer’s collection of signatures this year for the voters to eventually vote in California to legalize marijuana for any use and provide amnesty to those arrested for its use or possession. I thought NORML was *for* marijuana’s legalization, yet they failed to back Jack Herer’s efforts, which raises a red flag in my opinion.

    Some painkillers, like Opiate derivitive pain killers which are prescription only have liver-destroying additives included to discourage so-called abuse. These are also addictive and are big money makers for big Pharma and others who enforce their use. Big Pharma are the real drug dealers in America, with one organization protecting them.

    Google LEAP, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, and check Google News for marijuana, and you’ll see story after story about marijuana growers being busted, the war against marijuana IS BIG BUSINESS FOR THE GOVERNMENT and WE THE PEOPLE lose!

    It’s all about a control of your perception, marijuana allows for a change of perception, along with some other schedule I drugs. They want to control what you think, and remain rich off your misery.

  • The Slapster
    May 5th, 2008 at 10:12 pm

    Wow, and somebody was bitching about the Atari story being too long? Brevity, my friend, will win people over - not a whole freakin’ novel in a Comment box.

  • ted
    May 5th, 2008 at 11:14 pm

    I’m just wondering how much THC is in garlic…

  • Just Me
    May 6th, 2008 at 7:32 am

    “Dillmann scoffs at the notion that his label has anything to do with smoking pot.”

    Really?

    Really?

    C’mon….

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