The Union Hills corner used to belong to Giving Tree. The new green canopy out front says Nirvana now, and the parking lot at 701 W Union Hills Dr still pulls the same after-work crowd of regulars who do not want to drive south of the loop for cannabis. That continuity is the first thing you notice. Same neighborhood, same shoppers, slightly different shelves.
I drove up Friday afternoon for a 50% off promo run that the brand hangs across its top shelf every week, and walked out a little under $40 lighter with a half-gram of pre-rolls and a tin of Decadent peanut butter cup edibles. The room was warm, the line moved fast, and the budtender at my counter knew exactly what he was talking about.
Walking in, James at the counter, the pace of the visit
The Union Hills location reads more like a neighborhood post office than a dispensary lobby. Glass front, white interior, fluorescent panels, two security guys at the door who waved me through after a quick ID check. The waiting room had four people sitting; the counter had three budtenders working. By the time I finished signing in at the kiosk, my name was up.
James called me over. North Phoenix budtenders here run friendly rather than performative. He asked what I was after, and when I said pre-rolls under $20, he steered me past the front display toward a Friday-only set of 50% off house brand specials that were not loaded onto the printed menu yet. That kind of off-menu nudge is the difference between a budtender who is reading a tablet and a budtender who knows what is moving on the shelf that day.
He pulled up a Decadent peanut butter cup tin while we were talking, then looped back to the pre-roll case and showed me a Razzle Dazzle two-pack from the Nirvana house line that had hit the shelf earlier in the week. Total time from the kiosk to the door was about eight minutes, including the conversation. The line was four deep behind me, and nobody waited longer than five.
One thing the regulars at this corner already know: the storefront opened as a Nirvana store after Giving Tree was acquired, and the brand still labels the location “Previously Giving Tree” in its locator. The handoff was visible in the early Leafly reviews when the former Giving Tree faithful complained about the change. A year later, the menu has stabilized, the in-house brands have moved in, and the room feels like a Nirvana store rather than a transition. James said the team is mostly cross-trained across the three Phoenix Nirvana stores, which tracks: Downtown and West run the same playbook on deals and the same house labels.
The visit itself was friction-free. ID check, kiosk sign-in, two-minute wait, eight-minute counter conversation, out the door with a paper bag and a receipt. That is the right pace for a neighborhood weeknight stop, and it is the pace this corner is built for.
The menu is deeper than the storefront suggests
Nirvana North Phoenix runs the full vertical the company is known for. House flower, pre-rolls, vapes, edibles, and concentrates from the in-house Nirvana brand sit alongside partner brands like Moon Rock by Dr. Zodiak, Clean Concentrates, Clout King, Loud Pax, Pucks, Decadent gourmet edibles, and Backpackboyz. The Friday 50% off promo sweeps across that whole roster, which is why a $40 bag here on a promo day looks like a $70 bag at a competitor that does not run weekly verticals.
The deal stack is the part that earns repeat visits. The brand publishes its North Phoenix daily deals page with a real rotation: 50% off top brands every Friday, dollar pre-rolls on Mondays for new patients, points-based loyalty perks that stack on top of the daily promo, and a recurring buy-one-get-one on the house Razzle Dazzle line. None of it requires gymnastics at the register. James scanned my loyalty number, the discount applied, and that was the whole transaction.
If selection is the comparison axis you care about, the contrast on the same Phoenix corridor is our JARS Metrocenter Phoenix review, where the bias runs toward a 1,100-product partner stack instead of a tighter house-brand-led menu. If sun-grown single-brand flower is more your speed, our Sunday Goods Phoenix review takes the other side of that line.
The product I bought, what it cost, what it did
The Razzle Dazzle pre-roll two-pack came in at $12 after the Friday 50% off snap. That is not a typo. Two half-gram pre-rolls of Nirvana’s house indica blend, kief-coated, cone-rolled, in a black tin with the brand mark on the lid. At full price the same tin runs $24, which is still fair for a kief-rolled house pre-roll, but the promo turned it into one of the cheapest legal pre-roll deals I have seen on a Phoenix shelf this year.
Smell out of the tin was bright on the cone, with that faintly sweet kief dust you get when the outside is rolled in trim instead of misted. I lit one in the car about twenty minutes later. Onset hit at minute three, peaked around minute fifteen, and held for a flat hour and a half before tapering out. Body-heavy, head-clear enough to keep working, no cottonmouth scrape. Nothing premium-shelf about the flavor. Nothing offensive about it either. The price is what makes the product, and at $6 a pre-roll the math works.
The Decadent peanut butter cup tin was $18 for a 100mg pack, ten doses at 10mg each. Texture was closer to a real Reese’s than the chalky chocolate most edible cups land on. Onset was slower, around forty minutes, with a clean two-hour body high and no morning hangover. Easy to recommend for an after-dinner micro-dose.
What works at this location
- Friendly, fast budtenders who know the off-menu Friday specials before you ask.
- Aggressive 50% off vertical promo that hits house brands and partner brands on the same day.
- Eight-minute counter time even with four people in line behind me.
- Loyalty points stack on top of daily deals at the register, no gymnastics.
- Eight a.m. to ten p.m. hours, seven days a week, recreational and medical service.
What to know before you go
- The Union Hills lot fills fast on Fridays after 4 p.m. when the 50% off promo is live.
- House brand pre-rolls are the deal of the week. The branded partner pre-rolls (Backpackboyz, Loud Pax) discount less aggressively.
- The location used to be Giving Tree, and longtime Giving Tree shoppers should know the menu and team are different now even though the building is the same.
Frequently asked questions
Where is Nirvana Cannabis North Phoenix located?
Nirvana Cannabis North Phoenix is at 701 W Union Hills Dr, Phoenix, AZ 85027, in the strip plaza on the southwest corner of Union Hills and 7th Avenue. The store has a green facade and a covered drive-up canopy.
What hours is Nirvana North Phoenix open?
The store is open 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week, for both medical and recreational shoppers.
What deals does Nirvana North Phoenix run?
The published deal calendar runs 50% off top brands on Fridays, dollar pre-rolls for new medical patients on Mondays, recurring buy-one-get-one on house Razzle Dazzle pre-rolls, and a points-based loyalty program that stacks on top of the daily promo.
Is parking easy at the Union Hills location?
The plaza has a wide private lot shared with neighboring tenants. Friday afternoons after 4 p.m. fill up during the 50% off promo run, and the closest spaces clear within a few minutes as the line keeps moving. Disabled parking is at the front door.
Did this location used to be Giving Tree?
Yes. Nirvana Cannabis acquired the Giving Tree Wellness Center and rebranded the Union Hills storefront under the Nirvana name. The brand locator still labels the store “Previously Giving Tree” for longtime Giving Tree shoppers.
Is Nirvana North Phoenix recreational or medical?
The store serves both medical patients and recreational shoppers. Recreational customers must be 21 or older with a valid ID. Medical patients save on excise tax and access patient-only specials.
Best for, skip if
Best for North Phoenix shoppers who want a fast neighborhood stop with friendly counter staff, a real Friday vertical promo, and a deep enough house brand menu to keep coming back without overspending. Pre-roll buyers and loyalty point chasers will get the most out of this corner.
Skip if you only shop sun-grown single-brand flower from a vertically integrated farm, or if you want a 1,100-product partner-brand selection where the breadth is the point. Those are the trade-offs the brand made in choosing house verticals over a giant partner stack.
