Arizona Dispensary Trading Pre-rolls for Bras to Fight Breast Cancer

A Phoenix-area cannabis dispensary chain is giving away free pre-rolled joints to customers who donate a bra in a campaign to support breast cancer awareness while supporting an Arizona nonprofit group. A collaboration between Mint Cannabis and Check for a Lump, the Buds ‘n’ Bras campaign aims to highlight the vital need for breast cancer screenings and raise funds for related support services.

Now through October 15, customers 21 and older who donate a new or gently used bra at any of The Mint’s three greater Phoenix dispensary locations will receive a free pre-roll. Those who donate 10 bras will also receive a free breast cancer awareness T-shirt, with a limit of one joint and one shirt per customer, per day. 

The bras will then be given to Check for a Lump, which receives a cash donation for each bra donated. The Mint’s goal for the campaign is to collect 4,200 bras to support the nonprofit. During the seven-week campaign, the Mint will also donate $1 from every pre-roll sale to the nonprofit.

Vital Screenings Delayed by Pandemic

In an era of health screenings delayed by the coronavirus pandemic, nearly 6,000 new cases of breast cancer and 900 deaths are expected in Arizona this year, according to a statement from The Mint. A study from the IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science found that the number of mammograms declined 87 percent compared to the same period a year earlier. 

To address the issue, the Buds ‘n’ Bras campaign will include breast screening events held at its dispensaries in conjunction with Check for a Lump. Screenings will be conducted aboard the mobile mammography bus (MOM) from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, September 18 at The Mint’s Phoenix dispensary, and on Saturday, October 9 at the Mesa location. Patients can call (480) 967-3767 to pre-register for a screening.

All Mint locations will also share information about how to participate in the Check for a Lump Pink Out 5K walk/run planned for Saturday, October 2 at Steele Indian School Park in Phoenix. The company will also sponsor a booth at the event where it will collect new and gently used bras for the nonprofit group.

The Buds ‘N’ Bras campaign kicked off on August 27 with a “bra raising” ceremony held at The Mint’s Tempe/Guadalupe location with Check for a Lump. At the event, breast cancer patients and survivors hung a string of bras across the dispensary parking lot.

“Nothing better than seeing dozens upon dozens upon dozens of bras fluttering in the wind!” a spokesperson for The Mint told High Times in an email.

Arizona Campaign Off To A Good Start

So far, The Mint and Check for a Lump have already collected eight large, plastic trash bags “jam-packed” with bras. The spokesperson said that just one bag was too heavy to lift, adding that “at that point, it hadn’t even been a full two weeks that the program has been running, so the response has been wonderful.”

Rudy Molina, The Mint’s Director of Arizona Operations, told High Times in an email that “giving back to the communities we serve is a cornerstone of Mint Cannabis. We especially seek to help nonprofits that support our patients. We like to support organizations devoted to cancer, veterans, families and epilepsy, to name a few.”

 “As we approach Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October, we wanted Arizonans to think about giving through a different lens,” Molina added. “By asking for a new or gently used bra, and then stringing it to fly high above the dispensary, Buds ‘n’ Bras offers a creative way for customers to give back while also helping a great local cause.”