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H
e classifies himself as a “middle-of-
the-road doper” who never saw mari-
juana as being taboo. And now that it’s
less taboo, he is a marijuana business
man, too. “Marijuana is going through
a transition from outlaw growers to a much
more controlled environment, and I am person-
ally involved in this movement,” he says.
If the mainstreaming of marijuana had a face,
it just might belong to Cheech Marin. During
the course of an exclusive interview with
Tobacco
Business International
, Marin acknowledged that
he has always been on the pulse of the cannabis
industry where, finally, “the establishment has
caught up.” (See Cannabis Rising: Chatting with
Cheech, p. 46.) Have tobacco retailers caught up?
As the younger half of the Cheech & Chong
entertainment duo, Marin is well-known for
the stoner comedy he and Tommy Chong made
popular in the ’70s and ’80s. Fast-forward to to-
day, where he is now a part of the latest market-
ing strategy of the cannabis industry as it gains
more mainstream ground: celebrity-sponsored
pot. Colorado growers are reportedly leading
the charge in these seed/celebrity partnerships.
On the forefront of the trend, Hip-Hop art-
ist Snoop Dogg unveiled several strains of sig-
nature marijuana. Rappers Freddie Gibbs and
Wiz Khalifa, singer/songwriters Willie Nelson
and Melissa Etheridge, and the family of the
late Bob Marley followed suit and announced
signature weed products last year. This year,
Cheech Marin has joined the bunch with his
“Cheech’s Private Stash” brand of (so far) three
strains of marijuana and a loose-leaf vape pen.
But this is just one sign of a changing can-
nabis world. There are a multitude of others,
including:
H
Marijuana Consumption is Up
—Gallup’s Con-
sumption Habits poll of 507 adults across the
U.S. found that 13 percent of respondents report-
ed being current users of marijuana in 2016, up
from 11 percent in 2015 and 7 percent in 2013.
What’s more, 43 percent said that they have tried
the substance compared to 38 percent in 2013.
In 1969, the percentage of Americans who had
tried marijuana was 4 percent. According to
the review, 19 percent of respondents below 30
reported using marijuana. About 50 percent of
respondents aged 30-49 and 48 percent of those
aged 50-64 reported having tried marijuana.The
review also found that respondents who live in
the West are slightly more likely to report cur-
rently using marijuana (14 percent) or having
tried it (47 percent).
Joshua Wright of DoughMain Smoke Shop
carries a wide range of glass accessories
54
TOBACCO BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016