Masked UK activist handing out free coronavirus ‘essentials’: Weed, toilet paper, hand sanitizer
by Brooke Seipel
A British music producer and activist wearing a black balaclava has been driving around England offering free coronavirus lockdown “essentials” including toilet paper, hand sanitizer and marijuana.
OUTLAW posted a video of his endeavor on Instagram with “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” by Bobby McFerrin playing. The video shows him handing out toilet paper from a van rolling along at about 5 mph, leaving some on people’s doorsteps and stopping when people wave him down for the supplies. A sign on the van reads: “Free Isolation Essentials: Toilet Roll, Sanitiser, Bottled Water, Grinders, Bud.”
According to Vice, which interviewed OUTLAW about his activism, he has done similar stunts in the past. Around Christmas, he used his van to hand out cards to the homeless that were full of cash.
OUTLAW told Vice that he has given out 300 packs of toilet paper rolls, which he was able to obtain from a warehouse in Ireland as the product was hard to come by in stores.
“We’ve been to about 100 locations, but every one we go to, because we’ve got the music and that, loads of people stand at their doors, laughing out of their window,” he said. “We try to cheer them up.”
Asked if it was an expensive endeavor, OUTLAW responded: “It depends what you want to do with your money. No one is funding this apart from me.” He added that he has been growing the weed he gives out.
He said he’s been playing “cat and mouse” with local police over the matter but that he hasn’t done “anything that’s harming anyone.”
Other Instagram posts show he is expanding outside of his home of Manchester, England, to help out in other places and is even mailing weed to those who request it. He posted that he is hoping to get orders out before April 20, the traditional marijuana holiday of 4/20.
Toilet paper has been one of the more sought-after supplies after people stocked up in the first weeks of the coronavirus pandemic. Online retailers have been selling out, and some places are on back-order. Amazon announced last month that it would be prioritizing critical supplies as it seeks to fill orders.
Some stores in the U.S. have limited the number of rolls that can be purchased per-customer to prevent the item from flying off shelves.