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"Legal Weed" Victorious Against Federal Agency
By Lily Garza
September 9, 2008
The owner of a northern California brewery, ordered by regulators to remove the slogan, "Try Legal Weed" from bottle caps, has won on appeal. The Mt. Shasta Brewing Co., located in Weed, California will continue to use the phrase that has caused so much controversy over the last six months.
Authorities at the Federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau originally cited federal law prohibiting drug references on alcoholic beverages and informed brewery owner, Vaune Dillmann, that he must remove the words from the gold bottle caps. Dillmann refused and his appeal ignited a storm of media attention as well as support from fans and free thinkers across the country. Facing lots of bad publicity and a possibly lengthy court battle, the Bureau reversed its ruling and allowed Dillmann to continue using the controversial phrase.
"They acted like Big Brother. They said I was guilty of a thought crime," Dillmann said of his six-month battle with the authorities. "But it's over. Weed fought the law, and Weed won!"
According to the Los Angeles Times, Dillmann received a letter from the Agency’s assistant director that conceded that the phrase refers to the name of one of the microbrews produced at the brewery and shows no direct relation to the slang word for cannabis.
Initially Dillmann worried that the situation might take a toll on his business or even shut it down. In fact, the opposite has happened. He reports that sales have nearly doubled since the controversy began. The small brewery is now struggling to keep up with the demand.
Dillmann himself has even become a bit of a celebrity. After the story appeared on Fox News and in multiple news outlets across the county and internationally, he received over 1,400 emails, many from old friends and acquaintances offering support and congratulations.
Residents of the town of Weed were surprised by the controversy. The town has been using the play on words for years. Local gas stations sell t-shirts reading "High on Weed" and a sign at the city limit bears the words, "Temporarily Out of Weed."
The town was named for former resident, Abner Weed, a lumber baron and early 20th Century state senator. The brewery actually makes a beer titled Abner Weed Ale. Dillmann plans to enter the ale, along with several other microbrews, in an upcoming brew fest in Sacramento. Last year, his Shastafarian Porter won first prize at the competition.
And so the counterculture wins another victory as "Legal Weed" will continue to appear on every bottle the Mt. Shasta Brewery produces.
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