A “glitch” in California’s revision to its medicinal marijuana law could lead established growers like “Sisters of the Valley” without a crop.
Sister Kate and Sister Darcy are on a mission to share the healing benefits of cannabis with the world – that is if their business doesn’t get shut down first.
Reports Reuters, the non-religious – but spiritual – sisters have been growing and selling marijuana for medicinal purposes in Merced, California (where it is legal) for three years now. Unfortunately, their business is in jeopardy since Merced City Council issued a temporary ban on marijuana cultivation after a 6-0 vote on January 4, 2016.
Reportedly, the change is an effect of a “drafting error” in California’s revision to its medicinal marijuana law. While medical marijuana was legalized in the state nearly twenty years ago, a loophole in the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act, which passed in October 2015, is giving dozens of municipalities in CA the opportunity to ban various aspects of cannabis cultivation.
Due to this, the sisters are, understandably, frustrated by the public’s resistance to allow an acknowledged cure for cancer.
“It’s frustrating to me because there are all of these people with negative attitudes about something that is truly God’s gift,” Sister Darcey told ABC News.
The nuns’ business, Sisters of the Valley, sells high-quality medicinal salves, tonics, and tinctures on Etsy. Their products, which are independently certified as organic, are high in CBD, or cannabidiol, a cannabis compound that has been shown to have significant medical benefits, and low in THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, the better-known cannabis compound with psychoactive properties.
According to Sister Kate, the medicines they produce are based on “ancient ritual,” which involves turning their cannabis tinctures every morning and night, only bottling tinctures during a full moon and saying a healing prayer over every bottle and jar before it’s sold, reports EcoWatch.
“We make CBD oil, which takes away seizures and a million other things,” Sister Kate told ABC News. “It’s very high in demand from cancer patients right now. And we make a salve that’s a multi-purpose salve, but we found out it cures migraines, hangovers, earaches, tooth aches and diaper rash.”
Their Etsy sites shares that the salve is made from cannabis trim, coconut oil, vitamin E, lavender oil, calendula oil, and beeswax.
The medicines don’t come cheap, however. Two fluid ounces (400mg) of CBD oil made by the moon’s cycles and used for pain relief, costs patients $85.15, not including shipping, through their Etsy page.
Regardless, they hope to continue healing the sick with ‘God’s Medicine’ legally, therefore, are petitioning to stop the ban.
“Embrace, regulate, and tax, that’s all we want them to do,” said Sister Kate.
The future of the business remains uncertain as Mercer City Council meets this week to consider banning all marijuana growing in the area. The council must now decide if they wish to follow these recommendations, go with a total ban, or adopt something in between.
However, the point may soon be moot. According to Merced City councilman Kevin Blake, recreational marijuana is expected to be on the state ballot in November.
He told the Merced Sun-Star: “I give it a year or two and this may all be irrelevant” in regards to the local debate on the allowance of medical marijuana.
Watch below as the Sisters make salves during a winter solstice moon:
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