Breweries Embrace Marijuana Legalization in Marketing

Toke and drink up!

When it comes to showing their embrace of marijuana, beer breweries are standing by the plant and sticking it to The Man, man.

A handful of the nation's over 2,500 breweries have recently incorporated marijuana innuendo into their branding efforts, following a trend that's already seen pot jokes used to sell everything from power bars and ice cream to fast-food burritos.

Yet unlike other companies, which might face pushback to their edgy marketing mainly from church pastors and the PTA, beer makers are facing off with Uncle Sam for the right to advertise as they please. The federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), a small office that must approve nearly all alcoholic beverage labeling, is subject to an industry guidance document from 1994 that forbids weed references on alcohol labels.