Buy ‘Art’ From A Cat, Get Free Pot?

Something caught my eye as I was cruising through Facebook yesterday. It was a drawing that looked reminiscent of anything you'd find on a fridge in just about any home in America. It was a cat, done in crayon, with a cute little smile on its face. Nothing remotely out of the ordinary. That is, until I saw a price tag ... $165.

If you were to purchase this sweet piece of art from the FunBud420 website, which serves the Bangor area, it comes with a "one ounce smoking gift." Remember, you're paying for the art here. The cheeba is just a free gift from them to you. (Keep all that in mind. It comes into play a little later.)

Who wouldn't want these gorgeous Crayola masterpieces gracing the walls of their home? Plus, the website seems to be run by cats?! (Most of the artists listed on the site have cats as their profile photos and have names like Jibba James and Betsy Blunts.) You don't see that everyday.

But seriously-ish...

Mainers in 2016 voted to legalize recreational marijuana. However, more than a year later, there remains no legal framework for people to purchase it in a retail market. But in the past year, a handful of businesses in Maine have been making use of what they see as a loophole in the law that allows adults (21+) to "gift" up to 2 1/2 ounces of cannabis to another adult, provided no money is exchanged.

Originally, this part of the law was intended for caregivers and growers to be able to share and compare, without having to violate the law. However, some entrepreneurs have been using this loophole to make a living.

The jury is definitely out on the actual legality of all this, of course. Proponents of "gifting" say there is no money exchanged for the actual product, therefore it's okay. Opponents of "gifting" say it's a thinly veiled attempt to skirt the law, which prohibits any remuneration for cannabis products.

But police don't seem overly concerned about cracking down on the "gifters." According to an article recently in the Portland Press Herald, most "lawmakers realize that police have no appetite for arresting former Uber drivers...delivering jars of Blue Dream to...a cheery accountant in Portland’s Rosemont neighborhood."

Companies in southern Maine -- such as Greenlyght, Elevation 207, and Elite Harvest.  -- have already been doing this. They operate on a more straightforward platform of ordering your free gift, and simply having it delivered to you. You pay the delivery fee.

The FunBud420 folks, though, are the only ones offering "art" in exchange. I mean, if I'm shelling out $90 to $300 for a delivery of anything, I'd want some cool up-sell. If I got $300 worth of pizza from Domino's, you better believe I want a cool drawing on the inside of all the boxes.

But this is all up to the legal beagles to decide. I'm not a lawyer, and gift-delivering cannabis is not how I make my living, so I don't really have a dog in this fight. But I have to confess that I do love the idea of at least getting a humorous and delightful piece of "art" out of the deal, if that's your thing.

What you do with your time and money is up to you. And whatever that is should always be done responsibly. Do your research. Don't put yourself in danger. Most of all, be safe. Then everyone wins.