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The Oregon Liquor Control Commission on Friday approved a rule that prohibits using some popular strain names on packaging and labeling. Rob Patridge, chairman of the commission, called the new requirement "a common sense approach." "If you walk through a toy store and you can identify things that are strain names ... those are probably inappropriate. It's almost as simple as that."

(Beth Nakamura/The Oregonian)

Popular names, such as Girl Scout Cookies and Charlotte's Web, won't be allowed on the labeling and packaging of medical and recreational marijuana in Oregon under rules approved by the state Friday.

The Oregon Liquor Control Commission said it had reviewed about 500 marijuana strain names and identified about 20 that may appeal to children. Commissioners sought the rule change after hearing from members of the public who objected to the child-friendly names.

The rule, approved one day before the state licenses recreational marijuana retailers, prohibits words "that refer to products that are commonly associated with minors or marketed by minors."

Rob Patridge, chairman of the commission, called the new requirement "a common sense approach."

"If you walk through a toy store and you can identify things that are strain names ... those are probably inappropriate," Patridge said. "It's almost as simple as that."

The agency also won't allow strain names that refer to illicit drugs, such as LSD and Blow.

The list of outlawed proper names: Girl Scout Cookies, Grape Ape, Candyland, Charlotte's Web, Cinderella, Dr. Who, Bubblelicious, Smurf, Bruce Banner, Death Star, Skywalker and Jedi Kush.

Those strains will still be allowed in Oregon's recreational shops. Retailers and marijuana producers and processors can use initials or some other short-hand reference instead of the full strain name.

Companies that already have products in the new system with one of the names on the list will not be subject to immediate enforcement, said executive director Steven Marks. He said the agency will begin to inform companies about the new rule so they can take steps to label over the strain names and will screen out future packaging that contains those names.

Agency officials on Friday also said they would phase in pesticide testing requirements instead of requiring full compliance starting Saturday. Originally, the state required marijuana entering the recreational marijuana system to undergo pesticide testing starting Saturday.

Some lawmakers and marijuana businesses worried that not enough labs are up and running to perform the required testing. Under the change, the agency will allow fewer batches from each harvest to be tested instead of every 10-pound batch.

If any of the randomly chosen samples fails pesticide testing, every 10-pound batch must then be tested.

The state can move ahead with its policy to test every batch earlier than next March if liquor commission officials think enough labs can conduct pesticide testing to supply stores.

Marks said he expects enough labs to be online within four to six weeks.

-- Noelle Crombie

503-276-7184; @noellecrombie