More 4/20 Madness: Nike Withdraws Cheech and Chong Tribute Sneakers

Maybe it was because of the false rumor making its way around the internet yesterday that Japan had finally agreed to stop killing whales that we didn't believe this story at first. But apparently it's true: on April 20, aka international stoner's day, Nike was supposed to release a limited edition high-top sneaker to commemorate Cheech and Chong. The only catch: on April 15, the company announced that it was delaying the release because of unspecified legal reasons.

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Designed by Todd Bratrud of the skatewear company theHigh5, the mystery sneakers are white canvas with red leather, but each one has their own unique qualities: different colored shoelaces, for example, and one of them appears to have a red
bandanna wrapped around the top the way break dancers used to wear
them. For both shoes, though, the canvas peels off to reveal green suede underneath. There's a large picture of them you can view here.

Oh, we almost forgot to mention, the punchline: behind the tongue of each shoe is what Nike is gamely referring to as a change pouch. So in case you were wondering where to stash that roach, now you know. Innovative as it sounds however, Nike is a bit late on this bandwagon; the aptly named Sanuk Kingston sidewalk surfer shoe already has a velcro lined stash holder on each shoe that is “perfect for hiding a key.” And by key, they mean dimebag.

In any case, only 1000 of these shoes were going to be released, and now it's unclear when or if they will come out. A Twitter feed for Brooklyn Projects says the delay had to do with the bandanna, and estimated that the shoes would be available by late May. In the meantime, you can watch an entertaining Taiwanese animation of this story by Next Media Animation.