Turns Out Free Weed Is A Great Motivator

What would you do for a little bit of free marijuana? Would you pick up trash?

Dozens of people who live in Gardiner, Maine did just that Saturday, after hearing that a medical marijuana dispensary in the city was offering a free gram per trash bag collected. Dennis Meehan, who runs Summit Medical Marijuana in Gardiner, told the Portland Press Herald that volunteers picked up more than 100 bags of trash from city streets. So many people showed up, in fact, that they ran out of bags to fill.

While the freebie was probably an exciting token of gratitude for the participants, one gram isn't even that much — depending on what study you look at (yes, people study this). It's enough for maybe two joints.

And not everyone was there just for the free weed. Plenty of residents showed up to help clean up the streets, but refused the gift. Consider it an added incentive for folks to come together and do some good — and it worked.

“It’s really people coming together, it was a special thing to see people being selfless and giving their time on a really hot and sunny day,” Meehan told the Portland Press Herald. “A gram is a really small amount. People were doing it because they are caring individuals.”

For anyone who's wondering — yes, this was all 100% legal. Maine legalized recreational use of marijuana last November, and since Meehan was giving the weed away (to people 21 and over) instead of selling it, local police had no problem with this event.

“If [the garbage] all came from roadsides, and Gardiner is cleaner as a result, even though not everybody agrees with legalization, if a little good can come out of it, this may be it,” the town's police chief James Toman told the Portland Press Herald. “The Meehans seem to want to be positive contributors to the Gardiner community.”

Meehan hopes that events like this start happening in other communities where recreational marijuana has been legalized. Fingers crossed: There may just be a day when you, too, can pick up a little trash for a free joint.