Cheech and Chong to help Puyallup Tribe open second cannabis store

PUYALLUP, Wash. — Commencement Bay Cannabis has opened a second location in the Tacoma area.

The new store across from Puyallup Tribal Administration offices on Portland Avenue had its soft opening April 10.

Both locations are a part of Puyallup Tribal Cannabis Enterprises, which serves to create jobs and career paths. Money generated from the venture is used to provide “education, training and support for thousands of tribal citizens,” according to its mission statement, as well as contributing to the local economies in Fife and Tacoma.

Puyallup Tribal Cannabis Enterprises also includes Medicine Creek Analytics, a state-certified cannabis testing lab in Fife.

“This store means a lot,” said Puyallup Tribal Council Chairman Bill Sterud at the store’s launch. “It’s economic development at its best. It’s medicine at its best. It’s people getting together at its best.”

The store’s inventory includes flower, oil, topicals and edibles, among other items.

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Comedy Grammy-award winners, Richard “Cheech” Marin and Tommy Chong, will be at the store’s grand opening celebration Saturday from 2-4 p.m. ahead of their performance that evening at Emerald Queen Casino.

That date also happens to be 4/20, the unofficial day for celebrating all things cannabis.

The store features a self-ordering kiosk for consumers who already know what they wish to purchase.

It also has medically certified consultants, an important component in gaining wider community support. Cannabis’ potential medical benefits, particularly in the CBD market, has not gone unnoticed by the tribe, in its own efforts regarding research and education.

Washington State University is collaborating with the tribe in a project that could eventually help determine whether cannabis can reduce opioid use and pain along with improving physical and mental health, according to the project’s description. The work is happening at the tribe’s Qwibil clinic, which opened Oct. 23 and started the WSU research partnership April 1.

Jeff Mullens, branch manager of Commencement Bay Cannabis’ Fife location, was on hand at the new store’s launch. Mullens said it was important for him to receive his medical consultant certification.

“I knew there was a medicinal benefit ... that’s why I got into it,” he said.

For those seeking information, a consultant “brings them into a setting to talk about the medicinal properties,” Mullens said. “So it’s a little more private, we get into a little more detail ... when you look at the medicinal side they can actually start talking about the different terpenes and break down the plant and what it can do.”

Mullens told Leafly in a recent video profiling the CBC-Fife store: “An educated shop is going to be the wave of the future for cannabis.”

Click here to read the full story on the Tacoma News Tribune.

Tacoma News Tribune