Open water tap leads German police to cannabis discovery
Chase Winter
January 23, 2017
Police responding to a suspected broken pipe in a building in Bremen came upon an indoor cannabis growing site. The grower had forgotten to turn off the water.
Image: Polizei Bremen
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A police patrol responding to a report of flooding at a residential and commercial building in Bremen found 427 cannabis plants, the city's police said on Monday.
Police responded to a call last Tuesday from a resident in the building, who suspected a pipe leak was behind flooding that had left the basement covered in a centimeter (about half an inch) of water. To determine the source of the water, the police called the fire department to break down a locked door in the basement complex.
California's 'weed nuns' on a mission to heal with cannabis
The "Sisters of the Valley," California's self-ordained "weed nuns," are on a mission to heal and empower women with their cannabis products.
Image: Reuters/L. Nicholson
Joint-smoking nuns
Based near the town of Merced in California's Central Valley, which produces over half of the fruit, vegetables and nuts grown in the United States, the Sisters of the Valley grow and harvest their own plants - cannabis plants.
Image: Reuters/L. Nicholson
No halo
Despite the moniker, the nuns don't belong to any order of the Catholic Church. "We're against religion, so we're not a religion. We consider ourselves Beguine revivalists, and we reach back to pre-Christian practices," says Sister Kate, who founded the sisterhood in 2014.
Image: Reuters/L.Nicholson
From 'Sister Occupy' to 'weed nun'
Sister Kate adopted the nun persona after she took part in an Occupy Wall Street protest in 2011 dressed as a Catholic nun, a look that led her to be known by protesters as "Sister Occupy."
Image: Reuters/L. Nicholson
The group's Holy Trinity is marijuana
Sister Freya ladles cannabidiol salve made from hemp. CBD, the abbreviation for cannabidiol, has analgesic, anti-inflammatory and anti-anxiety properties. The nuns explain that hemp, a strain of marijuana, has very low levels of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive compound in the plant.
Image: Reuters/L. Nicholson
For the sake of well-being
Members turn the hemp into cannabis-based balms and ointments, which they say have the power to improve health and well-being. Sister Kate reports that the group had roughly $750,000 (€700,000) in sales last year, the most since it started selling products in January 2015.
Image: Reuters/L. Nicholson
Most Catholics tolerate the nuns
More than two dozen US states have legalized some form of marijuana for medical or recreational use, but the drug remains illegal at the federal level. California legalized recreational use of marijuana in November 2016. “We've gotten a few hate calls but, by and far, the Catholics understand what we're doing," Sister Kate says.
Image: Reuters/L. Nicholson
Critics of marijuana legalization won't stop the nuns
President Donald Trump's administration and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a longtime critic of marijuana legalization, have worried some in the country's nascent legalized marijuana industry. But the "weed nuns" say the new administration has
strengthened their resolve.
Image: Reuters/L. Nicholson
Salvation in Canada
"The thing Trump has done for us is put a fire under our butts to get launched in another country," says Sister Kate. "Our response to Trump is Canada." The group makes online sales to Canada, and hopes to launch an operation there in two months.
Image: Reuters/L. Nicholson
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To the officers' surprise, the door opened to a professional indoor cannabis growing site. Upon closer inspection, police found the water tank in the room was overflowing because the grower had forgotten to turn off the water spout. A further search of the basement found more growing equipment.
The resident who called the police said the basement belonged to someone who rented out one of the building's shops. Police are still investigating.
Cultivating or selling marijuana is illegal in Germany, although possession of small amounts tends not to lead to prosecution. The German parliament last week voted to legalize medical marijuana.
Opposition parties in Germany like the Greens and the Left Party have long fought for legalization.
