Right brand name gives marijuana strain a higher value

Adam Orenstein spent years cross-breeding marijuana plants before arriving at his proud new strain, a tall stalky plant frosted with white crystally hairs prized by growers and smokers.

But before releasing it to the public, he and his partners toiled over one of the most crucial steps: giving it the proper name.

“It’s like any other business. Branding is so important,” said Orenstein, 48, a “master cultivator” for Studio City dispensary Buds and Roses.

They eventually settled on Super Strawberry, a nod to the group’s last award-winning strain, Strawberry Cough. The new plant, they say, has the same fruity aroma but a more balanced high, aimed at lifting users off the couch and inspiring creativity.

“Super Strawberry just rolls off the tongue,” said Orenstein, a former editor at High Times magazine who is better known by his nom de guerre, Kyle Kushman. “With the names, we’re trying to be a bit more sophisticated and less stonerish.”

Pot has always commanded an abundance of nicknames. But with legalization taking it out from the shadows, purveyors of the pungent herb are christening their newest strains with the care of commercial marketers.

Don’t expect meetings in a boardroom poring over a dictionary, though. Finding that perfect name often requires help from friends, a brainstorm session and copious amounts of weed.

“So many times we’ve finally got to the end of a strain, and we have it right there and it’s done, and we’re like ‘What do we call it?’” said one of the co-owners of DNA Genetics, a leading cannabis seed bank in Amsterdam. “And we sit there and we call all our friends and smoke. That’s a brainstorm session.”

Striking the right handle matters.A memorable name like Purple Haze or Maui Waui can resonate for decades. It can also make the difference in today’s crowded field of expertly grown pot, where one high is often as good as another. All marijuana is derived from two parent strains: indica, which is associated with a sleepy body high, and sativa, which is believed to make users more energetic. Hundreds of hybrids now exist, including Orenstein’s Super Strawberry.

“If people associate a good experience with a particular strain, they’ll talk about it and look for it by name,” said Cy Scott, co-founder of Leafly.com, a directory of dispensaries and cannabis reviews.”The more clever the name, the more interest.”

Consumers now have hundreds of catchy varieties to choose from, including recent hits like Tangie, L.A. Confidential and Girl Scout Cookies. Tags often evoke a strain’s smell, taste or potency. Many slap the words OG or Kush onto their strains in homage to OG Kush, one of the most famous strains of the last two decades. The effect is not unlike labeling a product “premium” or “deluxe” — even if isn’t true.