Strains That Have Been Renamed: The What & Why

Cannabis breeders created thousands upon thousands of new strains and crosses in the amount of time since adult-use and recreational marijuana became a thing in the U.S. Strains featuring catchy, goofy, yet memorable names have still managed to stand the test of time—for the most part. 

Some strain names run afoul of conflict or controversy for various reasons. These conflicts cause costly disruptions for the strain breeder while also creating confusion for the unaware consumer. Most cannabis strain names remain etched in stone forever. However, others have had to pivot for one reason or another to keep some skin in the game. 

Why Do Cannabis Strains Get Named That Way?

For the uninitiated, enjoying cannabis can potentially provide big smiles and lots of laughs—humor has always been part of the aesthetic of cannabis culture. The marijuana game doesn’t take itself quite as seriously as other subcultures like wine and cigars. 

Many people who grow and breed cannabis have a more laid-back disposition, along with a clever and humorous imagination. Those characteristics translate into many of the strains’ names that breeders create—a practice that drives cannabinoid researchers crazy every time they cite a strain name like “Purple Monkey Balls” in their scientific studies. 

Strains Get Named For People, Places, and Smells 

References to both strain parents, like Mandarin Jack (Mandarin Sunset x Jack Herer), remain simple, while others, like Peanut Butter Breath (Dosidos x Mendo Breath), come off as clever. Some breeders name a strain based on how it smells—looking at you, Cat Piss, Permanent Marker, and Meat Breath. Other times, it may evoke a specific emotion, such as Jealousy, due to its enviously loud aroma.

Strain names often highlight clear characteristics, such as the type of diesel, skunk, haze, or kush they are, or the region they originated from—examples include Afghani Kush, Mendocino Purps, and NYC Diesel. People alive and dead, such as Gary Payton, Jack Herer, and King Louis XVIII, even get strains named after them..

Breeders also make cannabis strain names interesting as a brand marketing effort. A uniquely named strain has a fighter’s chance of standing out in a very crowded cannabis marketplace. Controversial strains spark conflicts in the cannabis marketplace, forcing brands to rename or abbreviate them.

Why Do Some Cannabis Strains Get Renamed? 

Growers and sellers often rename popular and even lesser-known cannabis strains for several reasons.. Many state-run adult-use and medical marijuana programs require dispensaries to change some candy and treat strain names at their stores. 

Political correctness often pushes cannabis brands to abbreviate or change crude or profane strain names.. Different phenotypes of certain strains also get renamed to distinguish themselves from the others, such as Gorilla Butter and White Truffle. 

Copyright Infringement Causes A Lot Of Strain To Be Renamed

Copyright holders and their lawyers identify conflicts and present them to the breeders and keepers of the strain. Breeders and dispensaries often rename high-visibility strains like GSC and GG#4 due to copyright issues, while lesser-known strains quietly get new names for reasons like rebranding or market differentiation.

Trademarked Brand & Organization Names 

The names of brands and organizations with trademarked names and intellectual property (IP) don’t mess around when it comes to breeders using them for a zinger of a strain name. It doesn’t take long for a cease-and-desist letter to reach breeders’ attention, usually based on confusion or tarnishment of reputation. An abrupt name change is a massive setback for breeders who didn’t bank on such a big success so quickly, especially in an industry that revolves around name recognition hype to sell cannabis. 

The Strain Formerly Known As Girl Scout Cookies

Breeders renamed the famous hybrid strain Girl Scout Cookies to GSC—also popularly called Cookies—to avoid potential trademark infringement.. Breeders in the Bay Area created GSC in the mid-teens as a versatile hybrid featuring a doughy, gassy, sometimes minty profile that continues to dominate modern cannabis.

GSC’s growing popularity soon caused officials at the Girl Scouts of America—a non-profit youth organization—to take notice. Officials sent letters to dispensaries, breeders, and all other cannabis businesses. These actions immediately prompted a switch, avoiding further monetary or legal challenges from the non-profit. 

Gorilla Glue Didn’t Stick Around For Too Long

The outcome wasn’t quite so simple for the original breeders of GG#4 and Original Glue. GG Strains developed a very sticky-icky strain around 2010 that they dubbed “Gorilla Glue #4”. Cannabis consumers made GG#4, as it’s now known, wildly popular for years thanks to its resinous buds, potent hybrid effects, and unmistakable chocolate-dank aroma.GG strains caught lightning in a bottle during that time, selling truckloads of merch right alongside seeds and cuts of their beloved strain. 

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The Gorilla Glue company, a maker of popular adhesive products, sued GG Strains in 2017 for infringement, dilution, unfair competition, among other charges. Many of the charges remained difficult for GG Strains to fight off in court. Implications of association with a cannabis brand could cause reputational harm for the adhesive brand, especially since cannabis is federally illegal. 

Both parties agreed to a settlement in the same year, and the breeders disbanded their web domain, rebranded their strains, and removed any allusions to gorillas anywhere in the cannabis marketplace. The efforts required to do so dealt them a large monetary blow. The case of Gorilla Glue set the standard for potential legal action in the name of protecting IP from cannabis strain names. 

The Original Z & The Flavors of the Rainbow

The rise of candy and dessert strains has made breeders adopt names that feature similar flavors and aromas. One strain that’s a parent in just about every other strain these days is the Original Z. Breeders originally dubbed this fruity, terpene-rich cross of Grape Ape and Grapefruit, Skittlez, urging consumers to “taste the rainbow”. 

The change came too late after breeder TerpHogz tried to avoid legal trouble similar to the Gorilla Glue case by renaming the strain “Zkittlez,”. Mars-Wrigley, the producer of Skittles candy, filed a federal lawsuit in 2021 against TerpHogz, alleging reputational damage due to association with marijuana. 

Terphogz and Mars-Wrigley settled in 2023, agreeing to similar terms as GG Strains did. These terms included immediate prohibition of the brand name on any products or marketing, surrender of domain names, and an agreement to avoid using any names similar to Skittles going forward. 

Despite the big changes for TerpHogz, they didn’t incur monetary damages this time around; however, the slow pace of removing the brand name led to another contempt charge against them. Mars Wrigley accused the breeders of still using the brand name and imagery, leading to major fines until they became fully compliant. The cannabis industry now recognizes the strain once called Skittlez or Zkittlez as Original Z, with TerpHogz continuing to lead the market.

Entertainment Industry Intellectual Property

You may’ve noticed that some of your favorite strains that breeders named to honor their favorite movies and TV shows have changed, too. Multi-billion-dollar entertainment companies forced breeders to pull these strains through cease and desist letters.

Luke, I Am Your Lawyer

One of the most well-known Afghani crosses used to be known as Skywalker OG everywhere, but it doesn’t take a genius to see why it got renamed after its parents—Mazar x Blueberry. The name Luke Skywalker is the IP of Disney/Lucasfilm, owners of the “Star Wars” film and television powerhouse. 

Disney/Lucasfilm eventually went into hyperdrive, rooting out any trademark infringements in the cannabis space as much as possible following many years of lax enforcement. Other strains and breeders naming themselves after popular elements of Star Wars, such as Death Star, Jedi Kush, and The Mandalorian, were also forced to change. Disney’s other entertainment wing, Marvel, also keeps regular tabs on any catchy cannabis strain names attempting to use their IP.

Intellectual Property Embracing the Cannabis Relationship 

Other strain names like Pineapple Express remain in the public domain with no repercussions, allowing breeders to use it however they see fit, despite the 2008 film holding the IP. This is a result of there being no registered cannabis-specific trademark for the name. 

Steve Urkle once stood out as television’s most popular nerd, becoming the breakout star of the hit TV show Family Matters in the early 1990s. Purple Urkle is a standout indica strain, reportedly a variety of Mendocino Purps. The show’s producers own the copyright to Steve Urkle, yet they have not taken any legal action. The actor who played Steve Urkle also embraced the strain’s name and popularity by joining forces with a big breeder of the strain to lend his likeness and name to the marketing, packaging, and overall vibe of Purple Urkle and several other related strains. 

READ: A Beginner’s Guide to Breeding Quality Cannabis Strains

A Mixed Bag of Other Strains That Have Been Renamed

The decision to market and sell a strain that may be controversial is entirely up to the dispensary, a lot of the time. Sometimes, dispensaries keep a strain’s original name, like Green Crack, despite its hard-drug connotations, while others actively rebrand it as Mango Kush or Green Kush to make it more appealing and less controversial. Take a look at a few other strains that you might sometimes see referred to as something else.

• Humboldt Seed Company made the decision several years ago to refer to their classic Purple Panty Dropper strain as just PPD to keep things copacetic with all demographics in the marketplace, not just dudes being dudes. 

• Dispensaries often abbreviate strains like Alaskan Thunder Fuck (ATF), Bruce Banner (BB), and Scooby Snacks (SS) to avoid vulgar language, protect intellectual property, and prevent associations with children’s entertainment.

• The Hell’s Angels motorcycle club doesn’t like dispensaries using their name for the potent cross of OG Kush known as Hell’s Angel OG. The notorious organization sent legal letters, forcing many dispensaries to change the strain name, as well as their underwear, due to the motorcycle gang’s legendarily brutal reputation. It’s now known as Hells OG or Biker Kush. 

• Some dispensaries, especially medical ones, shorten the strain name of Durban Poison to simply Durban for the sake of not associating a poisonous substance with potential medicinal care.

Changing A Strain’s Name Can Have Both Good & Bad Consequences

New strain names get created daily. The next big hit in the cannabis marketplace could very well be an already copyrighted name, while thousands that haven’t been discovered by lawyers yet remain. A name change has the potential for improvement when it comes to various sensitivities and tastes of certain segments of the marketplace as well.

Staying ahead of the inevitable and learning from the stories of companies that navigated rocky waters helps breeders avoid the drudgery, financial cost, and potential reputational harm of a popular strain’s rebrand. The hope is that a cannabis strain is excellent enough on its own effects, traits, and merit alone without the help of a clever name to successfully keep in the zeitgeist.