Dispensary Owner Incentivizes Park Clean-Up with Free Joints

Following a ban passed in March to shut down cannabis dispensaries in Colorado Springs, the owner of The Pothole cannabis dispensary in the city decided to demonstrate the positivity his business brings to the community. Steve Pacheco is the creative owner who decided to sponsor a park cleanup, which started at Vermijo Park, and he incentivized the clean-up by offering a free joint for each bag of trash picked up by volunteers ages 21 and over.

Pacheco told KRDO his intentions behind the cleanup were, “To show that we are a positive impact, you know, there’s nothing wrong with weed, and there’s nothing wrong with our kind of people.” Volunteers who participated saw two benefits in the cleanup, not only did they get free joints, but they were also healping to beautify a part of their community that they valued. One volunteer, Myles Christensen, said, “I hike every single day, and I see trash on every single trail, and it saddens me.”

Another volunteer, Danny Winfree, stated, “So it feels good to actually go pick the trash up, you know. I don’t mind it because I use the trail.”

Since cannabis is legal for adults over the age of 21 in Colorado, handing out free joints in exchange for volunteer work is permitted. Pacheco mentioned that other dispensaries in Colorado Springs plan to continue demonstrating how their businesses have a positive impact on the community for a variety of reasons, and this cleanup will not be the last for The Pothole cannabis dispensary and volunteers.

The ban signed by city council members in Colorado Springs would force all the cannabis dispensaries to seize operation within eight years.