It ain’t easy in the weed world, for both small and large operators. Less than a quarter reported making a profit last year according to cannabis research company Whitney. So what’s the deal with lawsuits against one of the biggest private operators, Cookies, over corrupt practices? Is the company really guilty of bad behavior, or is it getting targeted, because it does well?

What’s Cookies?

Part of what makes this story interesting, is the background of the brand, and the accomplishments of its leader, Gilbert Milam Jr.; who goes by the name Berner. Berner is a rap artist and marijuana provider, who started out in much more humble beginnings 25 years ago.

Prior to his success with Cookies, Berner was working in dispensaries like The Hemp Center. It was there that he began writing the music that made him famous in the rap world. As he gained prominence, he used the fame from his rap work, to begin his own weed enterprise. To this day, Berner sits as CEO of the company, and oversees every aspect of business.

According to Berner, via Insider, his company is now worth $1+ billion. If this is true, it makes it the first legal cannabis business to cross the billion dollar line. According to Berner, “Based on revenue, and growth, and potential growth, we’re definitely a billion-dollar company.” Whether it actually crossed this line officially or not, there’s no doubt that Cookies does very well.

The company operates in California, where it runs 49 dispensaries. The company also made a name for itself with a corresponding Cookies clothing line, which is sold throughout the world. Apparel is carried in US clothing store chains, as well as the company’s three flagship stores. Plus, its regularly advertised by Berner in his own music videos. The clothing line brings in a good amount of revenue, accounting for $50 million a couple years back, according to Berner via a podcast in late 2021.

Cookies’ growth

Cookies started out as a hoodie line. Before the company was a thing, Berner began wearing the trademark hoodie with blue strings and matching logo. This led to a deal to use the logo on a storefront in San Jose in 2010. Eight years later, the first Cookies retail location opened. The company then proceeded to open all 49 locations, within a four-year period. Add onto that the three clothing stores in San Francisco, LA, and New York City; and Cookies is a full-on weed empire.

Part of what drives the success of the man and the brand, is that Berner comes from this culture; he’s not a corporate guy looking to take advantage of an industry. He’s got long-time connections, and a sort of street cred that makes him an authentic personality, within a sea of corporate neckties. Through these connections, and his experience; he created an award-winning collection of gene strains, and repeatedly creates high-value products.

Berner even moved on from just California, something not easy to do in the weed industry. Cookies products launched in Massachusetts in 2021, and New Jersey in 2022. While he works on setting up dispensaries in New York City, Berner opened a third flagship clothing store in the city in late 2022. That year, Cookies opened the largest medical dispensary in Israel, as well.

Cookies is a privately held company, and Berner so far refused to sell. Allegedly he was offered $800 million by a publicly traded Canadian company, which he turned down. He knows his importance to the company, and that it could fail in the wrong hands. He said “I wanna live forever through my work. I don’t think money’s gonna determine when I retire.” Cookies is one of the independent weed enterprises to really make it big, in what is otherwise a growing corporate world.

Is Cookies corrupt? 1^st lawsuit

In April of 2023, it was reported that Berner was up to some shady tactics. Although whether this is true, or indicative of what happens to a mom and pop that grows and does well amid a corporate landscape of failure, is hard to say. It was reported in the LA Times that Berner was forcing other companies to pay him kickbacks to continue doing business together.

The accusations came from two lawsuits that were filed in LA County court. The suits allege threats of physical violence, or social media slandering if payments were not made on time; along with the inability to do business with the company if its demands were not met.

The first suit was filed in January by Cookies Retail Products (totally different company), which said Cookies forced it to use Cookies suppliers, and received pressure from Cookies executives to increase orders, despite manufacturing delays beyond the company’s control. This claim changed, however, in April when the suit went public. Cookies Retail Products withdrew its case, and its complaints, saying, via CEO Paul Rock, “certain third parties influenced us to file suit based upon allegations that we learned were not true.”

Cookies Retail Products filed the suit initially after a deal with Cookies to sell Cookies’ CBD products. CRP said it received pressure to increase orders, and up its use of affiliates and suppliers during this time. CRP then claimed it found out Cookies was taking third party kickbacks after CRP had invested millions, and inflating costs to pass these kickbacks through. In April it went back on all of this.

The 2nd lawsuit against Cookies

The second suit was filed on February 8^th, by legal counsel for a group of investors claiming “Defendants’ pervasive wrongdoing has caused their own pockets to be lined while causing massive losses to Cookies and its shareholders.” The lawsuit gives an example of Berner taking $1 million in jewels as a 3rd-party kickback to do business with a company. It also mentions houses and cash that were traded, saying that Berner accepted all this to fund an extravagant lifestyle. The claim is partly based on the idea that some of these deals were not beneficial to the whole company.

The suit goes into Berner using Cookies to promote his musical career, and using company money for personal expenses. It also calls out Cookies President Parker Berling, with claims that Berling similarly used company money for personal uses, as well as trading off contract promises for investments in his other companies. According to the suit, via LA Times, “Often, third parties that refused were threatened. In some instances, Defendants even threatened to, or did, cause property and bodily injury.”

The lawsuit doesn’t point to examples of physical threats, but claims they were used to steal intellectual property from 3rd parties, including cannabis strains. The investors wanted Cookies to do its own investigation into Berling and Berner, but as of the April writing, Cookies refused to investigate its top tier. Cookies shot back that most of the claims don’t have a legal basis, and that the plaintiffs already filed with the American Arbitration Association. Cookies claims the investors are using the lawsuit to get around their own case; in which the investors did not want to provide evidence to arbitrators.

Berner addressed this in an Instagram post, claiming there were predatory investors who were trying to oust him and other top executives. “These guys have made extremely false, damaging claims about myself that are completely just untrue, and I really look forward to the day in court that we can prove that these claims are false. They’re trying to remove me [and] current leadership from Cookies.”

A 3^rd lawsuit

One lawsuit was retracted, and the other ongoing. Amid this, Cookie was hit by a 3^rd lawsuit, filed by marijuana breeding company SeedJunky, as per SFGate. According to the suit, the two companies were in business together from 2019, under the name Minntz. SeedJunky alleges that Cookies executives cooked the books of Minntz, at SeedJunky’s expense.

The lawsuit also claims that Cookies sold stains of cannabis that were stolen from SeedJunky, but without credit to SeedJunky. The products are sold only under the Cookies name. Further to all this, the suit alleges Cookies gave SeedJunky’s staff falsified financial data concerning the operations of the two companies.

According to Berner in an Instagram post, the lawsuit is false, and SeedJunky is upset over the failure of itself.  The post video is no longer up, but apparently Berner quite brashly stated, per SFGate, “Dude’s been crying like a little b**** on Instagram for a long time, throwing subliminals. … You failed, bro, you failed. Seed Junky did not pop.” The case is set to have a hearing on September 15^th in LA. The previous case, involving the investors, is set for a hearing on July 26^th.

Conclusion

It’s hard to say if Cookies was really up to no good, or if this is what happens when you’re one of the only guys to do well in an industry filled with corporations tanking out. While other companies fail so badly that they’re being kicked off stock exchanges; and governments (Canada, Santa Barbara) are going after them to pay taxes; Cookies is thriving. Maybe that says a lot in the end. No one likes the winner, when they’re losing.

On the other hand, if the accusations are true, its a very clear indication that this is absolutely a non-functional market. If the companies actually doing well must resort to such tactics, it means things are pretty bad. California recently reported a desire to root out corruption in the industry. But maybe we wouldn’t be talking as much about corruption, if governments set up workable systems.

Hey there weed supporters! Cool that you’re here with us at Cannadelics.com, a news site in the independent space, here to bring you relevant reporting on the cannabis and hallucinogen spaces. We’ve got updates, so don’t be a stranger; and sign yourself up for the Cannadelics Weekly Newsletter, and we’ll make sure you get the best product promotions, along with the news.

Like this:

Like Loading…

Related

Year after year, the Cookies team stamps new strains that go on to become all-time greats. From GSC to Gary Payton, here are Cookies’ most legendary contributions to the greater cannabis gene pool.

Cookies Head of Genetics Jai “Jigga” Chang mostly stays behind the scenes, despite Cookies’ global popularity. With 58 stores in 18 markets across six countries, Cookies was named one of America’s Hottest Brands of 2021 by AdAge. The hype is backed up by Chang’s groundbreaking strains like Gelato, Gary Payton, and strain that bore the brand’s name, GSC (short for Girl Scout Cookies).

Cookies strains and their descendants have been fixtures in the top 10 of Leafly’s most searched strains year after year. In 2017, GSC and Gelato began charting nationally among all-timers like Blue Dream and Sour Diesel. By 2022, Jealousy and Gary Payton joined the long line of Cookies fam genetics to crack Leafly’s top 10 most searched strains. A staggering 70% of Leafly’s 10 most searched strains in 2023 can be traced back to Chang’s genetics.

From classic Kushes, to rare exotics, here are the Cookies cannabis strains that continue to change the game.

F1 Durban Poison

Chang’s hall of fame cultivation resume started with F1 Durban Poison, which he began growing in 1998. The strain is considered to serve as the foundation of the entire Cookies family tree.

Cherry Pie

Chang crossed his exclusive stash of F1 Durban Poison with GDP (Grandaddy Purple) to make Cherry Pie. Those sweet genetics continue to power heavy hitters to this day.

In the early 2000s, before there was a legal cannabis market, Chang’s team aimed to push the envelope of modern Kush while working out of a grow house in San Francisco’s Sunset District. There, they are believed to have perfected Cherry Pie and GSC.

Back then, Chang worked in the healthcare field and provided Cherry Pie to HIV/AIDS patients. At the same time, Chang and the Cookies gang flooded the streets with the original Girls Scout Cookies strain, aka GSC. More than two decades later, GSC and its most famous descendants continue to dominate both legal and unlicensed markets, setting a standard for cannabis connoisseurs worldwide.

GSC (Girl Scout Cookies)

Cookies’ first hit strain went big around 2011 thanks to shoutouts from rappers like Wiz Khalifa and Cookies CEO Berner. But Chang says the original GSC genetics had been on the streets since about 2005.

GSC, also known as “Girl Scout Cookies,” is an indica-dominant hybrid marijuana strain made by crossing OG Kush with Durban Poison. This popular strain is known for producing euphoric effects, followed up by waves of full-body relaxation. GSC is famous for its pungent, dessert-like aroma and flavor profile featuring bold notes of mint, sweet cherry, and lemon. Because GSC has reached legendary status among the cannabis community at large, you can find many variations of this sought-after strain, including Thin Mint (aka Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies) and Platinum GSC (aka Platinum Girl Scout Cookies).

“We knew right away. The smell was unique, it had the shiniest, densest nugs, and it held its flavor,” Chang said of the first GSC crop. The people agreed, and GSC grew so legendary that  Girl Scouts of the USA even claimed trademark misappropriation. The simple solution was to drop the GS and simply use “Cookies” to refer to the strain and the brand.

Sherbert

Just as Cookies was going mainstream, Chang’s team took another great leap with Sherbet, which helped set the standard for more sweet dessert strains that continue to make a splash in the market today. “Sherbet,” also known as “Sherbert OG” and “Sunset Sherbet,” is an indica-dominant hybrid marijuana strain that’s a cross of Girl Scout Cookies and Pink Panties.

This strain produces powerful, full-body effects that are elevated by a jolt of cerebral energy and a carefree state of mind. The dessert-like flavor profile lives on in Gelato, Jealousy, and many other candy-sweet strains of today. Sherbert was originally bred by Mr. Sherbinski, who bred the strain to inherit the genetic lineage of parent strain Girl Scout Cookies.

Gelato

This collaboration with Mario Guzman of Sherbinskis continues to define the “Exotic” terpene profile for many cannabis connoisseurs today. In 2021, Leafly’s Danté Jordan said it’s the best strain he’s ever tried, and many smokers agree. 

Gelato’s genetic profile is a cross of Sunset Sherbert and Thin Mint GSC. “It tastes like a hashy grape-flavored ice cream cone without the calories,” according to Jordan. In 2014, Mario Guzman (Mr. Sherbinski) worked with Chang (aka Jigga), to produce Gelato’s dense, purple-and-orange–accented flowers.

Runtz

Leafly’s 2020 strain of the year was the perfect storm of fire genetics and brilliant marketing. At the end of 2020, it shot to the top of Leafly’s strain database popularity charts, and it has rarely left the top 10 since. The meteoric rise came after Yung LB, Ray Bama, and the Runtz gang debuted the strain at the 2020 Emerald Cup Harvest Ball. The rest is history.

The Cookies Fam created Runtz genetics by crossing Zkittlez with Gelato. The fruity flavor profile that was born smells like a bag of the popular fruit-shaped candy. Growers say this strain has resin-drenched buds that range in color from rich purple to lime green, and smokers rave about its creamy smoke that’s smooth and inviting. This strain of weed produces euphoric highs and uplifting effects that are known to be long-lasting. Purple Caper Seeds released the same cross under the name Gelato Zkittlez.

Gary Payton

This strain will stick to your brain like a glove. It’s named after a basketball legend who doesn’t even smoke weed. The super sticky masterpiece proved on a grand scale that OGs still matter back in 2019. This superbly funky Kush checks all the boxes for classic tokers who want bright greens and sour skunkiness, not the sweet purple “zaza” profile many breeders are now chasing.

Payton’s genetic lineage goes deep. It started as a collab between Cookies and Powerzzz Genetics. It quickly became a hit, thanks to the dynamic combination of the Y and Snowman breeds. Remember, GP has high amounts of THC and almost no CBD, but is known for a balanced and chill high that’s consistently satisfying.

Apples and Bananas

Released in 2019, Apples and Bananas is a hybrid weed strain made from a genetic cross between Blue Power and Gelatti. Leafly customers tell us Apples and Bananas’ effects include happiness and euphoria, and medical marijuana patients often choose Apples and Bananas when dealing with symptoms tied to anxiety, depression, and stress. Bred by Cookies and Compound Genetics, Apples and Bananas features flavors like apple, pear, and tree fruit, and is chock full of myrcene.

The Soap

Here’s what one Leafly verified user had to say about The Soap: “This strain could also be called ‘the cleaner’. It will remove any old lingering residuals from previously smoked strains. Top class high and zero anxiety or panic. Toker for over 25 years. Tried well over a hundred strains. This is one of (my) all time faves. Like a more mellow dreamier.”

A cross between Animal Mints 9 and Kush Mints 11, The Soap is among Cookies’ most legendary strains. It smells kind of soapy, but sweet. The head rush can be great for daytime smokers. “Best tasting flower I’ve ever had in 18 years of smoking. Checks every box,” said another Leafly reviewer. “Smell, look, taste, smoothness high (have) everything that comes along with smoking.”

London Pound Cake

London Pound Cake, also known as “Pound Cake,” is an indica-dominant marijuana strain made by crossing Sunset Sherbert with an unknown heavy-hitting indica. The Cookies original boasts legendary bag appeal. It’s iconic Queen Elizabeth-inspired imagery is displayed on the Cookies NYC store mural, and its fat, fiery nugs will entice your nose, eyes, and fingers.

Genetically, London Pound Cake offers a loud berry and grape flavor that’s backed by sharp lemon and citrus overtones. In terms of effects, expect a head and body high that will leave you blissed out on the couch. Medical marijuana patients tell Leafly that they often choose London Pound Cake to relieve symptoms associated with fatigue and depression.

Cereal Milk

Cereal Milk is a hybrid marijuana strain from Cookies. The Cereal Milk strain is made by crossing Y Life (Girl Scout Cookies x Cherry Pie) and Snowman, a sativa-dominant Cookies pheno. Cereal Milk has a loud flavor with a sweet milk and ice cream nose that will keep you dipping back into your stash. You can expect dense, quality nugs dripping with trichomes and a potent high.

Congo Kashmir

Looking for the next Cookies strain with hall of fame potential? Not much is known about Congo Kashmir, for now. But Berner recently told Pothead University that this is currently his favorite strain to puff on. You can find pre-rolls at Berner’s Merced in California, and other select locations.

We don’t have many details on the genetic profile yet, but we can already see hype building for Congo Kashmir based on big Bern’s co-sign, and the exotic name alone.

Keep your eyes peeled for updates on this next evolution of Cookies’ legendary lineage.