Another day, another cool cannabis strain name that is forced to bite the dust. This time it’s the “Oreoz” strain, originally bred by the geniuses at 3rd Coast Genetics, who also bread the currently super popular Pure Michigan strain that’s a best seller in multiple states now.
Unfortunately 3rd Coast has run into some problems with their naming, despite this strain going hyperbolic in terms of growth in the recreational market.
In this overview we dig into what Oreoz originally was and how Oooze came to be.
“Ooze” Genetic Lineage Explained
The “Oreoz” strain, sometimes spelled “O.R.E.O.Z”, and now simply called “Ooze”, is a combination of Cookies and Cream and Secret Weapon strains, which gives it a darker, bitter earthy cocoa and cream kind of terpene expression and flavor. This could partly be due to the GSC genetics of the Cookies and Cream parent strain.
This Ore…er..uh..”Ooze” strain is definitely been one that I’ve been keen to try as the Pure Michigan I sampled in pre-roll form was an absolute delight. 3rd Coast breeders clearly know what they’re doing when it comes to phenohunting.
Either way, any future sampling will have to be done under the “Oooze” name since Nabisco, under their owner Mondelez International, has sent a cease and desist to growers in both Colorado and Michigan for using the “Oreoz” nomenclature.
Personally I think changing the old “Oreoz” name to something like “CCC” for “Chocolate Cream Cookies” would have made a better name but I suppose “Oooze” is a unique ring to it as well…
Apparently, as part of the cease and desist they must stop growing and marketing cannabis flower under the “Oreoz” name, which is claimed to be too similar to the trademarked “Oreos” cookie name. This includes the strains formerly known as the original “Oreoz”, “Lemon Oreoz”, and “Mint Oreoz” variations.
Bummer man.
Mondelez argues that the “Oreoz” name, even though it’s spelt with a “Z” in the cannabis application, is “virtually identical to our client’s famous trademark”. Mondelez attorneys also warn that legal action could soon be coming to anyone who continues to keep using the trademark name, even if it’s spelled slightly different.
Apparently they’re very serious about it, going as far as contacting web hosting companies used by weed blogs that dared to even review the previously branded “Oreoz” strains, prior to the cease and desist being sent, which seems a bit harsh.
We’ve seen the same thing now with other cannabis names that use pre-existing trademark names to describe their terpene and flavor profiles, like GSC and GG4.
More recently, the “Zkittlez” brand had to rebrand to “The Famous Z” after Skittles candy owner Wrigley forced them to stop using their trademark name with legal action.
We also saw in 2023 Maven Genetics being forced to change the name of their French Laundry strain to “Formerly Known As French Laundry” or “FKAFL” for short, after Los Angeles based French Laundry Restaurant Corporation sent Maven a cease and desist.
This continues a trend of big corporate consumer product brands taking legal action against cannabis breeders and growers, and apparently even review bloggers, who are simply referencing their trademark names out of homage due to similar universal flavor characteristics such as “chocolate” and “cream”.
