One cannabis company really wants to cash in on Coachella
Cannabis and music festivals go hand in hand, especially in sunny Southern California, where marijuana has long been legal for medicinal use and with adult recreational use recently legalized.
The sight of a joint or a pipe being passed around while taking in performers at one of the many festivals in the area is commonplace. Lowell Farms knows this, which is why the company decided to launch a specialized blend in time for the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio.
Last week, the Santa Barbara-based growers announced a limited-edition “Coachella Blend” of packaged, pre-rolled joints that would only be available during the festival and sold exclusively through the the Palm Springs Safe Access dispensary (roughly 20 miles away from the festival grounds).
And to further cash in on the Coachella craze, the company, which made headlines with a very lovely Valentine’s Day bouquet packed with weed, also unveiled their twist on the ubiquitous flower garland that thousands of attendees will be spotted donning on Instagram throughout the festival weekend.
Lowell’s version of the garland, naturally, included a quarter-ounce of cannabis intertwined with white roses — it’s beautiful, even if it’ll be quite difficult to get into the festival with a ton of weed nugs on your head.The only problem with this promotion? Lowell violated long-registered Coachella trademarks by marketing the product with the festival name.
After receiving a cease-and-desist letter from AEG Presents, the owner of the company that oversees the festival, Lowell posted the notice which they pegged as “NotChilla.”
“AEG has demanded Lowell Farms remove any posts tagged #Coachella and to cease using the tag,” a statement from the company read. “Lowell Farms has no desire to get into a prolonged legal battle with such an established and well funded company, however they are working to find a creative solution to deliver this special blend to festival goers.”
Though tons of companies smartly find ways to cash in on the 100,000 festival fans that make the annual pilgrimage to Indio, most have done so without infringing upon the intellectual property of Coachella.
Lowell said it offered to be the first official cannabis sponsor of the festival and wanted to donate all profits of the limited run to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws but hadn’t heard back from festival organizers (though silence is often an answer).
On AEG’s end, Lowell is just the latest company that the world’s second largest presenter of live music, sports and entertainment has had to go after.
Earlier last month, Urban Outfitters was sued for improperly using a number of Coachella trademarks to sell a number of products incorporating the festival’s name.
Lowell’s limited-edition blend (a mix of Dog Walker, Single White Girl, Chocolate Hashberry and Lenny OG strains) will be renamed #NotChilla. AEG didn’t return calls for comment.
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