The Girl Scouts might have discovered an entrepreneurial gold mine: recreational marijuana stores.
No, the former Brownies aren’t selling magic brownies, but they are capitalizing on the munchies. Camped outside of legalized marijuana shops across the country, the girls and their parents have been setting up tables lined with boxes of Thin Mints and Samoas, selling the cookies to the long lines that form outside.
One Chicago marijuana dispensary, Dispensary 33, said it serves more than 500 people a day, and many end up buying a box of cookies on their way out. The Girl Scouts outside of Dispensary 33 sold more than 230 boxes of cookies in one day last week, according to troop leader Melissa Soukup, who described the sale as “decent.” Usually, the girls sell about 450 boxes per day, which go for $5 apiece, she explained.
Ironically, Dispensary 33 also stocks a popular strain of marijuana called “Girl Scout Cookies,” which sells out almost immediately, according to dispensary Marketing Manager Abigail Watkins. “Maybe that was because of the Girl Scouts,” she said.
Say what you will about legalized marijuana, but the dispensaries have at least inadvertently contributed to a good cause. The money the Girl Scout troops raise from cookie sales goes directly to community service projects. Anything left over is donated to charity, the organization says on its website.
It might be unusual, but the symbiotic relationship between Girl Scouts and marijuana dispensaries works. “The cookies they’re selling and our clientele, it’s a great match,” Watkins said. “As a former Girl Scout, I admire the hustle.”
