When Delaware approved legal recreational cannabis in 2023, it’s unlikely that anyone thought it could lead to the chance for free cannabis. But the nonprofit Delaware Cannabis Advocacy Network (CAN) made that a reality this fall, and plans to do it again in the spring of 2024. The catch? You have to do volunteer work.

Delaware CAN created the “Joints for Junk” program to entice people to help with a cleanup project, something the organization has done since its formation in 2013, according to Delaware Online. But with the legalization of adult-use cannabis in Delaware in 2023, this year’s project was a little different. By coming out and helping with the cleanup, volunteers received one free pre-rolled joint donated by a CAN member.

“It was probably one of our best turnouts for a community service project,” Zoë Patchell, president of Delaware CAN, told Delaware Online, said of “Joints for Junk.” “There were a number of new people we had never met before, and a few of them even became members.”

And no, people did not fire up at the cleanup site. Also, Patchell said, no one took the joint and left.

Delaware CAN Chose Interesting Site for Cleanup Project

After settling on the “Joints for Junk” name, Delaware CAN embarked on the quest to secure a venue for their community service project. Their search led them to Millsboro, a town in Sussex County with a population of approximately 7,000. Interestingly, Millsboro’s council had recently passed a resolution banning sale and manufacturing of marijuana.

The event attracted more than 50 volunteers, all 21 and above. Each volunteer received a pre-rolled joint, donated by members of the nonprofit group organizing the initiative. This act was made possible by the new Delaware law, which allows the gifting of up to an ounce of marijuana to adults.

The volunteers gathered at Millsboro Town Center, the very location where, just six days earlier, the Town Council had voted against the legalization of marijuana in a public hearing held on Nov. 6.  The volunteers collected more than two dozen bags of trash from the vicinity surrounding Millsboro Town Center, symbolically cleaning up the area where the recent decision against marijuana had been made.

“There was significant community support there while we were involved in opposing the vote, so it just seemed like a great place to do it,” Patchell told Delaware Online.

Another Joints for Junk Project Planned for Spring

During the cleanup in Millsboro, six teams of volunteers worked from 10 a.m. to noon. The resulting cleanup was so effective, and received such a positive reception from residents in the area, that Delaware CAN is planning a similar event for 2024.

One Millsboro resident told Coast TV that he was fine with the cleanup event. “First, you’re cleaning up the community,” Michael Aamodt said. “And if somebody wants to smoke a little pot on a weekend or when they’re home, I don’t see any problem with it.”

The organization is also continuing its advocacy work. The nonprofit’s website notes that even with legalization, “We’re gearing up for our next legislative actions and growing our team to ensure that the expansion of citizens’ rights doesn’t end with mere legalization.”

That includes promoting laws that allow home cultivation and increase access to medical cannabis for more people, as well as expanding the expungement of arrest records involving those charged in the past with crimes related to cannabis possession.