Sometimes community service is best done after a cone of dank, and not a court order.
Over the past month or so, what seems like hundreds of stoners have ditched couches and blunt cruises in favor of scenic smoke sessions, making a point to collect as many roaches, wrappers, and general garbage as possible. Welcome to the #StonerCleanUpInitiative.
Started in July on the cannabis-focused subreddit group r/trees by user RedArms219, the rules to the latest viral challenge are simple: every time you go to your favorite smoke spot to light up, leave it a little prettier before leaving.
The original post, a photo of a backpack full of trash in front of a graffiti-covered bench in a field clearing, featured the simple caption; “Cleaned up the smoke spot #StonerCleanUpInitiative.” And like that, the grassroots movement was born. With more than 22,000 upvotes on RedArms219’s post, Reddit’s green team sprung into action to roll-up, reuse, and recycle.
Didn't even take me 5 minutes to pick this up at a common smokespot. Let's keep the movement going! #StonerCleanupIniative from r/trees
In the weeks since, the heady garbage removal trend has jumped to Twitter and Instagram, where the hashtag has inspired environmental action, industry support, and, of course, memes. As the clean up continues, stoners across the world have posted photos and videos showing piles of trash bags and truckloads full of refuse pulled from wooded backlands and other destinations primed for smoke seshes en plein air.
Found 6 packages of Swishers/Zig-Zags in this big load this morning. Please pick up your smoke stuff, it’s so easy! #StonerCleanUpInitiative pic.twitter.com/iQFOU7XHBW
— TheBestDank (@TheBestDank) August 13, 2018
Adding some stoner-friendly incentive to the cannabis clean up challenge, functional glass makers Half Full Studios have kicked-off an Instagram competition offering a custom bubbler for one lucky #StonerCleanUpInitiative participant. Last year, Summit Medical Marijuana dispensary in Gardiner, Maine offered a similar reward program to customers, giving a “gift of cannabis” to any registered patient who participated in a local litter removal event.
As cannabis growers, users, and state regulators continue to come to terms with the industry’s environmental impact, be it chemical run-off and ecological destruction caused by black market cultivators, generators burning fossil fuels to keep lights and fans on in indoor grows, or blunt wrappers left in the woods by careless stoners, the #StonerCleanUpInitiative is a welcome reminder that we are all in this together, and that a little bit can go a long way.
So keep smoking, keep clearing litter, and leave your environment cleaner than you found it — for the sake of the trees.
(h/t Mashable)
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