Oreo crumbles over cannabis strain

Officials at the company that makes Oreo cookies are crumbling.

They are angry that cannabis cultivators have created a strain called Oreoz. The company has sent cease and desist letters to cultivators in Colorado and Michigan.

Being a news hound, when I saw Oreoz at my favorite Denver dispensary tonight I had to give it a try. Is the strain really all that?

For starters, it really does taste like an Oreo. Almost exactly. But better still, it crushes anxiety, which I have been experiencing the past couple of days.

Medicine better than an Oreo cookie

I have had medical cannabis cards in both Illinois and Colorado. To me, cannabis is medicine. I often wonder if some people don’t take cannabis seriously due to the outrageous names of strains.

I never have been a fan of Oreo Cookies, but the cannabis strain is quite good. Fairly large nugs are covered in resinous, dense trichomes. The taste of chocolate and cream dances on your pallet upon the exhale.

This strain is a cross between Cookies and Cream and Secret Weapon. “Consumers should take caution as the high potency of Oreoz may be overwhelming to those new to cannabis,” Leafly warns. “This strain has an aroma reminiscent of campfire s'mores, with extra delicious hints of chocolate and diesel. Medical marijuana patients use Oreoz to help relieve symptoms associated with appetite loss, insomnia, chronic stress and depression.”

Allbud also sings the strain praises. "The Oreoz high hits you almost as soon as you exhale, slamming into both mind and body with long-lasting effects that will have you soaring for hours on end. The high begins with a boost of cerebral effects, filling your mind with an uplifted sense of happiness that instantly washes away any negative or racing thoughts. As your mind flies higher and higher and your happiness expands, you'll be slammed with a heavy case of the munchies and a light physical high that helps you relax while you snack."

Stomping on our buzz

Westword obtained a copy of the cease and desist letter sent to the Oreoz cultivators. “According to Mondelez's attorneys, cannabis breeders and growers were aware of the ‘overwhelming success and the fame of the Oreo brand’ when they named Oreoz, Lemon Oreoz and Mint Oreoz, among other strains,” Westword reported. “The letter points to various images and branding associated with the cookies that have been used to market cannabis products and argues that Oreoz is ‘virtually identical to our client’s famous mark.’”

Cannabis strain tastes like a cookie sandwich

The letter blasts the growers for creating a strain of cannabis that tastes like a chocolate cream-filled cookie sandwich. "We understand that the cannabis strain you are selling under the name Oreoz is a hybrid of a Cookies & Cream strain and a Secret Weapon strain," the cease-and-desist demand says. "That you are selling and marketing a strain of product that has a scent or flavor profile that brings to mind a chocolate cookie sandwich does not give you the right to use our client’s mark, or a nearly identical version of it, as the name of the hybrid strain. Similarly, the fact that you may not have initially created the strain or named it does not justify your use of Oreoz or your use of our client’s products to sell your products."

I got my Oreoz on the DL

I won’t say where I got my Oreoz strain tonight. But I will say that when I called it Oreoz, the budtender said, “No, that’s Ore-rez,” noting its named after its resinous nugs.

Nice try. It tastes just like an Oreo cookie to me. As for stealing the cookie’s trademark, what will come of Runtz, Zkittlez and Girl Scout Cookies? Nothing really. The strains likely will change names, but the same great taste and stellar effects will remain.