It’s a strain with many, arguably too many, aliases — GG #4, The Original Glue, or simply just, Glue.
Before an infamous lawsuit with the super-glue company, Gorilla Glue Co., stoners simply knew the strain as Gorilla Glue — a fascinating legacy created by Nevada-based cannabis cultivators, Joesy Whales and Ross Johnson. It found the spotlight during the 2015 World Cannabis Cup. Sticky, resin coated buds with a heavy-hitting high that famously leaves the user glued to the couch, the name was fitting.
In previous years, it was not uncommon for names of cannabis strains to play on the familiar — a move that has seen much pushback amongst the modern legal framework for cannabis as legalization expands. Strains like Girl Scout Cookies, Skittles, and Strawberry Shortcake have all been privy to legal interference. In the name of compliance, old favorites must be rebranded; which is why nowadays, Girl Scout Cookies is GSC, Skittles is Zkittlez, and Strawberry Shortcake is Strawberry SC.
Gorilla Glue followed a similar fate. The early counterculture of cannabis necessitated a rejection of the traditional, and with the only laws involving cannabis being that it was illegal, the names of cannabis strains were fair game. Which is why for Whales and Johnson, following the tongue and cheek nomenclature so beloved by stoner culture, just made sense.
However, the adhesive company, Gorilla Glue, was not impressed. In 2017, they took Whales and Johnson to court for copyright infringement. Half a year was spent deciding the fate of the strain’s future name, ultimately landing on abbreviating the name altogether.
In September of 2017, GG strains reached a settlement with Gorilla Glue, requiring Gorilla Glue to be rebranded as GG #4, along with other requirements for packaging and marketing.
A glue company going to bat with a cannabis company was rather unprecedented at the time, with two drastically different industries intersecting unexpectedly. Though expensive and lengthy, GG Strains have taken the lessons of their lawsuit to heart.
In an interview with Cannabis Business Times in 2017, Johnson stated, “In the future, if (people) think they have the next best, greatest thing, (they should]) select a good, unique name. People are going to realize that this is becoming mainstream, and they’ve got to think a little bit harder before they slap a name on a product.”
It’s interesting to consider the ways in which the cannabis industry will continue to change. When the esoteric meets the familiar, complications are bound to occur. Regardless of the lawsuit, GG Strains are still alive and well today; with many varieties of GG #4 legally coexisting within the cannabis industry.
