Madison Root is an enterprising young lady. She knows braces are expensive, and wants to help pay for them. So, she went to her uncle’s farm, cut and bundled mistletoe and headed to the downtown Portland, Ore. market to sell it for the holiday season.

And then she ran into the long arm of bureaucracy.

…a security guard told her that she had to stop selling due to a city ordinance that bans such activity in a park “except as expressly permitted under the terms of a lease, concession or permit.”

The guard didn’t want to be heartless though. He told young Madison to beg. That’s right: beg. Go beg people for money. Madison’s reaction?

“I don’t want to beg! I would rather work for something than beg,” Madison told KATU reporter Dan Cassuto. “It’s crazy. People can get money for pot. But I can’t get money for braces. I’m working for this! They’re just sitting down on their butts all day asking for pot.”

A Portland Parks Bureau spokesman told the station that begging is a form of free speech and is protected by the First Amendment.

Madison: we support you. You should work for the things you want and need. You’re doing the right thing. It’s too bad your city would rather teach its young people to panhandle instead of prosper.