A small business owner in Downtown Gardiner used a peculiar incentive to encourage residents to take part in last weekends community clean up....marijuana!

According to Associated Press... WCSH-TV reports Dennis Meehan, owner of Summit Medical Marijuana in Gardiner, offered residents who collected trash Saturday free marijuana. Meehan's company advertised the cleanup effort on their Facebook.

Meehan says he decided to try the day of service after hearing about a town in Colorado that used the exchange. The businessman says anyone who is over 21-years-old was offered free marijuana if they presented a bag of trash that was collected in town. Gifting marijuana is legal in Maine.

Meehan hopes to eventually expand the day of service to the entire state. He says the program is about bringing awareness to the "life-changing" nature of cannabis as well, according to the Associated Press.

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