Now, this is not what you are thinking but I really like this story.  A brewery up in Weed, California got in trouble for putting “Try Legal Weed” on their bottle caps. Despite the fact the gas stations have t-shirts for sale that say things like “High on Weed”, regulators claimed to have a bit of a problem with the term on the bottle caps.  The question became whether the phrase alluded to marijuana use.

The “weed” won in that they are allowed to say what they want on the bottle caps.  One interesting part about it is that Vaune Dillman (the owner of the Mt. Shasta brewery that manufactures the beer) pointed out that Budweiser uses the phrase “This Bud’s for you” which is also a phrase that could indicate “weed” of some sort.  Funny how a big corporation is doing the same thing as Mr. Dillman but doesn’t seem to have the same legal problems.

I am happy for Mr. Dillman in that he fought the law and he won. Legally, I see how one might think the phrase standing on its own might refer to marijuana use. However, I think we are getting a bit out of control with that mentality considering the beers are considered “Weed Ales” and clearly the ad could be used to support the sale of the beer in a cheeky sort of way.

I like it when these things happen. It is an example of where sure, legally I could see where the claim is but do we really want to shut down the 1st Amendment this way? Talk about being high. I’m thinking of buying the beer so I can have a souvenir bottle.