Dec 22nD–Dec 28th, 2022 phoenixnewtimes.com phoenix new Times State Licensed Dispensaries & Doctor Cer tifications 67 Blazin’ Trails Arizona Organix celebrates 10th anniversary with Cheech, lowriders, swag and weed. BY MIKE MADRIAGA I t’s been 10 years since Arizona Organix opened to serve metro Phoenix’s local cannabis patients and became Arizona’s first state- approved medical marijuana dispen- sary. Cheech Marin, dozens of lowriders, musicians, and an estimated crowd of 2,500 people met up at the historic-downtown Glendale locale on December 10 to celebrate. They hung out, showed out, and smoked out. “This is promoting for the community,” said Ricky Douangvilay, a Glendale resident and long-time medical mari- juana patient. “For recre- ational or medical people, we still have kickbacks where [dispensaries] are giving back to the community.” Douangvilay was referring to the free cannabis samples Arizona Organix and other companies were providing during the anniversary shindig. The event began at noon with a lowrider show, then offered a meet-and- greet with Marin (sans Chong) at 4 p.m., then an afterparty when the sun went down. “We took pictures with Cheech,” Douangvilay said. “He was cool, but there was a long line, so that we couldn’t talk much.” Marin — who with Tommy Chong made up the Cheech & Chong comedy duo from the 1970s turned weed-centric movie stars — met with dozens of fans for photos and autographs. A fan walked up and said he owned the same type of 1964 Chevy Impala SS lowrider car Marin’s character drove in the 1978 movie Up In Smoke. Another fan, an artist who calls himself Sesh Farms, handcrafted a custom blunt for Marin resembling the same Marin character. It even sported a red-colored beanie cap and a thick mustache made with weed and colorful rolling paper. ‘That Was Badass’ During the dispensary’s lowrider show, three owners parked their vehicles on Glendale Avenue in front of the dispensary. The three lowriders were sitting with the drivers’ side front wheels hovering in the air and appeared as if they were in three- wheel motion. A steady flow of vehicles crept past the dispensary, with some drivers hitting their hydraulic switches, jacking up the lowriders’ frames and then suddenly slamming them down to the asphalt. Other cruisers on the strip bumped old-school funk music so loud that it set off the alarms of vehicles parked nearby. In the dispensary’s parking lot, which doubles as part of a drive-thru for cannabis customers, dozens of additional lowriders were parked. An El Camino and a Cutlass Supreme from the ‘80s were lifted on all four wheels and resembled 4x4s. A lowrider-style Schwinn bicycle was parked in front of an old- school Chevy Blazer. The air was filled with smoke — from a barbecue grill and plenty of weed. It was indeed a different type of trip. Some attendees dressed the part for the lowrider show, including Kween Tina, a cannabis brand ambassador and former budtender. She rocked a fedora hat, a Charlie Brown-style half shirt, gray slacks, and a motorcycle wallet with a chain affixing it to her belt. “I was very mind-blown and happy to see that the cannabis community did something different, brought in lowrider cars and did a different scene than the average,” said Kween Tina, who asked that we identify her using her Instagram moniker. She and her buddy, who had a ginor- mous Cheech & Chong-esque blunt, tripped out on the red and gold Chevy Impala parked nearby. “That was badass,” Kween Tina said. “I hope that it continues and to grow the [lowrider] culture and the cannabis culture at the same time.” Free Weed and Swag Jessica Cooley — general manager of the dispensary, which is a Best Of Phoenix award winner — said the store hopes to host more events in the recently-paved parking lot. “Glendale already has a big lowrider community, and early on, this wasn’t really about just cannabis stuff,” she said. “We plan on having an | CANNABIS | The homemade Cheech Marin Up In Smoke action figure seen at the party. Sesh Farms >> p 69
