Pot grower's 'Beast Mode' strain packs punch
Originally published January 26, 2014 at 7:49 PM | Page modified January 26, 2014 at 11:30 PM
Ken Lambert / The Seattle Times
With bartenders naming cocktails after Seahawks players, it's no surprise a local pot grower has come up with a strain called 'Beast Mode,' in tribute to Marshawn Lynch.
'It's extremely strong,' said Nate 'Diggity' Johnson, owner of the Queen Anne Cannabis Club, which carries the strain named after the burly Seahawks running back.
Most of the weed sold in Seattle medical-marijuana dispensaries has a THC content between 12 and 20 percent. An indica-dominant strain of the OG Kush family, Beast Mode has a THC content of 17.6, according to testing by Analytical 360, Johnson said.
The weed hits you like its namesake, he added. 'Marshawn has gears when he's running and it's kind of like that. It has a little bit of a slow start and then kicks in.'
The group of growers that produced Beast Mode call themselves Zion Gardens. Johnson explained the growers came up with the name after cultivating a strain that was supposed to be 'Girl Scout Cookies.' After harvesting, the growers realized it wasn't. And when they tried some, according to Johnson, one said, ''It hit me like Beast Mode.''
Beast Mode is the only strain Johnson knows about named after a Seahawk. He said his collective also has carried Seahawks-themed pot-laced cupcakes that quickly sold out.
According to the collective's menu, Beast Mode costs $13 per gram or $150 for a half-ounce. Those are the 'donation' rates, Johnson said, as collectives are technically not supposed to sell pot.
Donations pay for employee salaries and the cost of running the dispensary, he said.
Johnson said he and the grower are aware Lynch has registered trademarks on the term 'Beast Mode.' According to ESPN, Lynch has trademarks on clothing and hats and has trademarks pending on sunglasses, headphones, bracelets and cleats.
'Since it's for donation-based medical cannabis, we feel his compassion towards it will make it acceptable,' Johnson said of the Beast Mode marijuana.
Lynch's agent did not respond to a message.
Questions remain about whether a marijuana strain can be trademarked because of the ongoing federal ban on all pot. Seattle-based Canna Law Group, which counsels pot entrepreneurs, advises clients that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will not register trademarks for pot-related products.
In Colorado, growers have named a strain for Denver quarterback Peyton Manning. It's also derived from the OG Kush strain.
Bob Young: 206-464-2174 or byoung@seattletimes.com
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