(CBS13/CNN) — To an outsider’s eye, Canyon Cannabis might’ve appeared like a small-town, rinky-dink pot shop.
Housed in an unassuming building off a scenic highway, it was the lone dispensary in the 500-person city of Gates, Oregon.
Inside, though, visitors were greeted with an explosion of color and sound.
A vintage Pioneer sound system bathed the room in music — Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Wonder, old ska and blues — from owner Thorin Thacker’s personal collection of 3,000 vinyl records he kept on site. Sometimes the soundtrack was provided by Thacker himself, a musician and Latin dance instructor, who would pick on an 1882 Fairbanks & Cole banjo or tinker away at the century-old piano placed in the lobby.
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Beyond the experience, the dispensary’s curated selection of craft cannabis and hand-blown glass pipes from local artists helped attract a loyal clientele that included Portlanders from 80…
