Cheech Marin Talks Weed Beverage Cheeche’Lada At The OG Cannabis Cafe

Cheech Marin is as consistent as a cannabis legend can be.

His weed lore dates back to when it was riskier to be a consumer. Marin’s weird and hilarious flavor of stoner slapstick comedy alongside Tommy Chong has forever imprinted the Cheech and Chong names into the history books.

Taking normalizing to new heights yet again, Cheech Marin celebrated his weed beverage Cheeche’lada created with Blaze Mota at the OG Cannabis Cafe in West Hollywood. Fans wrapped around the block of the storied OG Cannabis Cafe on La Brea Avenue (once called the Lowel Cannabis Cafe and then the OG Cannabis Cafe) to get a taste of the cannabis beverage.

Low riders were parked out front. One baby blue vintage car had a vanity plate that read “Mry Jain.” The restaurant was hopping with excitement as crowds of consumers ate, smoked weed, and waited for Marin to arrive. The Cheeche’ladas were flowing—and for guests who spent $35, the drink was on the house. They paired well with the restaurant’s Turkey Tacos ($19), Carne Asada Tacos ($18), or Vegan Tacos ($22), a fan favorite on Taco Tuesday.

Once Cheech was on the scene, it was pure elation and chaos mixed with bright camera flashes on the restaurant’s weed-friendly patio. Marin hasn’t aged a day. Weed might be the reason. When asked if he enjoys joints or blunts, Marin says he prefers joints for his health. At the age of 77, the legend is as childlike and hilarious as ever.

His success in cannabis is a family affair. Marin informs that his daughter designed the Cheeche’lada artwork displayed on the packaging. Blaze Mota's original Mota'lada, called Lowrider, contains 20 milligrams of THC while Cheech’s Cheeche’lada, lovingly named the Highrider, contains 50 milligrams of THC.

The drinks act as a nice replacement for alcohol, Marin says. Are people drinking less alcohol, and more weed? “I think so, man. You know, if they gave me the choice between substituting alcohol for weed, I would do it in a second,” Marin says. He explains that substituting cannabis beverages means no hangover the next day. “Oh, yeah, I mean, it is medicine. You know, it really is a good pain reliever. You don't have to just smoke it. You can smear it on yourself and lick it, whatever you want to do. Drink it, smoke it, smear it.” Does he bathe in it? “Not yet,” says Marin. “But the night is young.”

When it comes to bringing the Cheeche’lada to new marketplaces across the country, Marin is looking forward to the opportunity to expand the brand beyond his home state of California. “I would love every state, you know,” says Marin. “I love every state. It's amazing where it's illegal and not illegal. You know, Alabama's not legal, but there’s a culture there. They're waiting for federal legalization.”

Is Cheech among the Americans who are awaiting federal legalization? “I am,” says Marin. “I am. But I'm not going to do nothing while I wait.” He says Americans are doing just fine, smoking enough weed, and that weed users are already ubiquitous across the world despite legalization. “We enter every segment of our society, every segment,” he says. “I don't care if it's Supreme Court justices or homeless, it is every segment. So, you know... weed is already there.”

If Cheech were elected president, he would proudly represent the cannabis platform. “Would I legalize? On my first day as president,” says Marin. “Day one.”

Marin says he doesn’t need to inspire more Latin American entrepreneurs to enter the weed industry. “They were in there from the first place,” says Marin. “They have been in there. You know, there's a lot of Latino growers that I know. That's the way to get in the business, you know, and then they build it up. You grow, you sell, you know. I don't think there's anything we need to encourage them to do because they can do that.”

In five years time, Marin hopes that cannabis will have more uses, be backed by more research, and see increased access across the world. “It will be totally legal, you can go to a store and buy it. You can go to a store and buy it now, but it’ll be easier, you won't have to sign up for it or anything,” says Marin. “The laws will be better because they'll be able to find out really what it is and what the uses for it are now. They will be able to experiment, whether they research it and find out exactly what other uses it has. It has multiple uses. Hemp was a big product before in industrial use, you know, so it could be now.”

How does it feel to have a legend like Cheech Marin at the cafe? “It's great,” says Shaun Hurley, the Chief Revenue Officer of Elevate Holdings and man in charge at OG Cannabis Cafe. “He's like a stoner icon. Of course, we're going to have someone like that, you know? What we're trying to build here as you can see is a real community and culture.”

“As the first consumption restaurant, the space’s intention was to really build that fresh culture and cannabis love for everything. For us, it’s super important,” says Hurley. Brands on the weed menu are limited to exclusive partnerships with Dizzies, Wav, and Helena Farms. “We're lucky enough to be able to partner here with these guys and we wanted to really make sure that the staff is really educated, friendly, and that the food is amazing.”

Chef Jonah Johnson is the man behind the food menu, the head chef at the OG Cannabis Cafe as well as Jonah’s Kitchen and Bar in Santa Monica. Its menu offers up shareable feasts like the Korean Wings ($22), Steak Layered Nachos ($27), and Parmesan Truffle Fries ($11), alongside quintessential LA main options like a Smashburger ( $24) and a Fried Chicken Sandwich ($24) with hot honey. A fancy brunch menu also entices stoners on the weekends.

The OG Cannabis Cafe has built a culture where everyone can come, no matter who they are, to enjoy the higher things in life. You never know who you may see through the haze. B Real, founder of Cypress Hill and the cannabis mogul behind Dr. Greenthumb was in attendance. Marin ended the evening by signing his own photo in the bathroom, where the walls are lined with celebrities smoking weed.

Marin leaves cannabis entrepreneurs with some parting advice: “Buy low, sell high.”