Toronto cannabis shop rides high over FIFA legal notice

Cosmic Charlies, a cannabis store on Toronto's Queen Street, is riding a wave of unexpected fame after a legal notice from FIFA over its sale of "FIFA Bong" products. The shop destroyed the items on Monday morning but is capitalizing on the instant publicity generated by the skirmish with the global sporting organization.

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It has come to our client's attention that you are advertising, offering for sale and/or selling products bearing the FIFA trademarks.

Last Friday, the store received a legal notice from FIFA lawyers for selling bongs that resembled the World Cup trophy. Priced at C$50 ($36), only one bong was sold to an anonymous buyer before the store was contacted. The legal notice, from Lipkus Law representing FIFA in Canada, stated, "It has come to our client's attention that you are advertising, offering for sale and/or selling products bearing the FIFA trademarks."

Store owners and brothers Sean and Charles Kady were surprised by the notice. They had intended the bongs as a festive item to celebrate the World Cup, which Canada is co-hosting. Canada's legal cannabis market, combined with the global event, presented what Sean Kady called an "opportunity to portray Canada as the leader in cannabis tourism."

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So we thought there was an opportunity to portray Canada as the leader in cannabis tourism. And we just thought that this would be another reason to kind of bring in those soccer fans and fans of FIFA...

"The cost of breaking one bong definitely could never buy me all the PR that we've gotten just from carrying this thing for a short period of time," Kady remarked, referencing the incident where he destroyed a bong with a mallet and scissors. He added, "I never expected to go viral, obviously, for carrying it. And I'll never forget the time FIFA gave me a red card."

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The cost of breaking one bong definitely could never buy me all the PR that we've gotten just from carrying this thing for a short period of time. I never expected to go viral, obviously, for carrying it. And I'll never forget the time FIFA gave me a red card.