Cheech & Chong Glass is a licensed smoking-accessory line endorsed by Richard “Cheech” Marin and Tommy Chong. It launched in June 2015 through a collaboration with West Coast Gifts, the Vancouver distributor that designs, manufactures and wholesales the collection. The products are non-plant accessories — borosilicate hand pipes, water pipes, bubblers and dugouts — rather than cannabis made by the duo.
How the line began
West Coast Gifts brought the collection to market in June 2015. Glass designer Nick Wamsley drew on the duo's films and comedy routines to develop the shapes, names and graphics, describing the approach as bringing in old-school style with color-changing elements alongside contemporary features. The brand's About page calls it the only glass company licensed by both Tommy Chong and Cheech Marin.
Products and materials
It includes beaker and straight-tube water pipes, Sherlock and spoon hand pipes, downstems and bowls. The brand specifies 100% borosilicate glass for its glass pieces.
Design references
Most product names come from scenes in the duo's movies and comedy acts. The Labrador hand pipe is modeled on the oversized spliff from Up in Smoke.
The company behind the products
West Coast Gifts was founded in 2003 by Howard “H” Franklin and is based in Vancouver, British Columbia, where it describes itself as Canada's largest distributor of wholesale glass pipes, vaporizers and smoking accessories. Its own brands include Red Eye Glass, Red Eye Tek, GEAR Premium, LIT Silicone, iRie and Retro Glass alongside Cheech & Chong Glass, and it distributes more than a hundred other brands. Consumers buy through the dedicated Cheech & Chong Glass store, while wholesale accounts run through West Coast Gifts.
The source material
Cheech and Chong met in Vancouver in the late 1960s, built a stand-up act and moved into film with Up in Smoke. West Coast Gifts' own account of the line notes that Chong had lived in Vancouver, the city where the pair met and where the company is based.