Looking to drum up some new business, 13-year-old Girl Scout Danielle Lei and her mom set out for a San Francisco medical marijuana clinic on Monday, Feb. 17, 2014. (Via Mashable)

Girl Scouts selling cookies by pot shops? OK in San Fran, no way in Colorado

Looking to drum up some new business, 13-year-old Girl Scout Danielle Lei and her mom set out for a San Francisco medical marijuana clinic on Monday, armed with boxes of Tagalongs, Dulce de Leches and other cookie varieties she and other scouts sell annually.

Any patients at The Green Cross with the munchies didn’t stand a chance. In two hours on President’s Day, Danielle sold 117 boxes outside the clinic — people gobbled up all her Dulce de Leches and blazed through the Tagalongs. According to her mother, Carol, that’s 37 more boxes than what she sold during the same two-hour period outside a small Safeway the next day.

Carol said her two middle-school-aged daughters have sold Girl Scout cookies outside a medical marijuana clinic before, though this was the first time they stopped by The Green Cross. She usually has them set up shop at various points around San Francisco so they can learn about different environments while earning some cash. Plus, Carol figured this might be a good way to start a conversation about drugs and how some use marijuana as medicine while others just get high.

“You put it in terms that they may understand,” Carol said. “I’m not condoning it, I’m not saying go out in the streets and take marijuana […] It also adds a little bit of cool factor. I can be a cool parent for a little bit.”


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The Green Cross was on board as soon as Carol called to ask for permission to sell cookies outside, and employees at the clinic bought plenty of cookies themselves, too.

“It’s no secret that cannabis is a powerful appetite stimulant, so we knew this would be a very beneficial endeavor for the girls,” Holli Bert, a staff member at The Green Cross, told Mashable in an email. “It’s all about location, and what better place to sell Girl Scout cookies than outside a medical cannabis collective?”

Other scouts in Danielle’s Troupe 3168 haven’t done business outside medical marijuana clinics, according to Carol, and the same goes for scouts in her 14-year-old sister Nikki’s Troupe 32215. But the Girl Scouts of Northern California don’t have a problem with it.

“Girls are selling cookies, and they and their parents pick out places where they can make good sales,” Dana Allen, director of marketing and communications for Girl Scouts of Northern California, told Mashable. “The mom decided this was a place she was comfortable with her daughter being at.” Later, she added, “We’re not telling people where they can and can’t go if it’s a legitimate business.”


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The Girl Scouts of Colorado, though, have a different opinion — even though it’s a state where recreational marijuana is now legal in small quantities.

On Feb. 9, a poorly photoshopped photo of three girl scouts standing outside a medical marijuana clinic began circulating online.

When Girl Scouts of Colorado got wind of it, they immediately called it out as a hoax and said they’d never let their scouts sell cookies at such a place.

If you are wondering, we don’t allow our Girl Scouts to sell cookies in front of marijuana shops or liquor stores/bars.

— Girl Scouts of Colo. (@GSColo) February 12, 2014

The Leis, on the other hand, have faced no such opposition in California. In fact, The Green Clinic has welcomed them back this Saturday, Feb. 22, from 4 to 6 p.m., when Danielle will satisfy the cookie cravings of many more. All money she makes will go toward paying her dues and supporting the Girl Scouts organization worldwide.

This article originally appeared on Mashable.

This story was first published on DenverPost.com