Despite getting up there in years, stoner comedians Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong are still making major marijuana moves.
On June 30, they announced a deal with Five Point Holdings to open Cheech & Chong dispensaries in five states - Arizona, California, Illinois, Nevada and Washington.
Tommy Chong
"Cheech and I have waited patiently to find the right combination of talent and the right team to trust with the Cheech & Chong properties. We both pursued our own individual projects knowing if the right opportunity came along we would do something with our Cheech & Chong brand and with Five Point Holdings we have the winning combination."
Cheech Marin
"The Cheech & Chong movies, songs and comedy bits have helped shape and mold the weed culture as we know it today. Now we're bringing that trusted, funny and familiar cannabis comedy experience into the store environment."
Paris Chong - Tommy's son and manager
“There are a handful of names and brands recognized by everyone around the world and the Cheech & Chong brand is one of them."
Danny Keith - president of Five Point Holdings
"Our company is well positioned to take this legendary brand and develop experiential dispensaries utilizing the decades of cannabis infused content and branding for which Cheech & Chong have become known. The executive team we have assembled is second to none."
The stores will sell branded Tommy Chong's and Cheech's Private Stash products as well as other brands and their own Cheech & Chong merch. Chong tells Cheddar (see clip above):
"We're going to open Cheech & Chong dispensaries all over the world. We decided it was time to go ahead with our own stores. We've had offers from the beginning. But we held out for the right people and the Five Points people are the right people. Our stores are going to be state of the art. You're talking to the guys who invented this lifestyle practically. We're going to have Up in Smoke days and Nice Dreams days. It's going to be phenomenal."
About the collaboration, Five Point, which is based in Walnut Creek, CA hypes at its website:
"Five Point has secured funding to provide license acquisitions, real estate purchases and store build out projects. By utilizing the world-renowned branded product line of Cheech & Chong, Five Point is perfectly poised to capitalize on the rapidly growing cannabis market."
Five Point currently has no stores in operation. "By combing the distribution capabilities of Five Point, with the untapped cannabis parallel, the cannabis industry finally has the right vehicle to deliver the dispensary experience the industry has been asking for," the company adds.
Paris Chong tells CelebStoner that the two brothers behind Five Points, Jeremy and Matthew Abrams, have experience in cannabis retail. Jeremy owned One Love in Long Beach before it was sold to MedMen. "This is basically a licensing deal for Cheech & Chong," Paris says, adding: "Our first store will be in California."
