Denver charity gives free marijuana to the homeless for Christmas

DENVER, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- Volunteers with a Denver nonprofit took to the streets Christmas Eve to give the homeless some unusual gifts -- free marijuana cigarettes.

Nick Dicenzo, founder of the Cannabis Can nonprofit, said he and his volunteers handed out thousands of pre-rolled joints Christmas Eve to homeless adults and other bystanders interested in a toking token as part of their ongoing efforts to raise awareness of homelessness in the city.

Dicenzo, who said he legally grew all of the marijuana used in the giveaway, said the event raised awareness of the group's efforts to raise money to buy RVs that would provide restrooms and showers to the city's homeless.

"'Cannabis can make a difference,' is kind of what we're standing for," Dicenzo told WXYZ-TV. "A lot of the people we spoke with really were just like, 'if I had regular access to a shower, and a haircut my life would be so much better -- I'd have so much more opportunity.'"

He said the volunteers were careful to follow legal procedures while distributing the marijuana cigarettes. Denver does not allow for public marijuana smoking, but cannabis can be given as a gift to a person over the age of 21. A person is also not allowed to carry more than an ounce of marijuana at a time.

"Which makes the logistics of this really tricky, but yeah I have lots of people with one ounce on their person," Dicenzo said.