Meet the Californian 'weed nuns' doing 'God's work'

  • 18/03/2018

On a farm, in a valley, in the middle of California, a sisterhood of nuns are doing what they say is God's work.

The Sisters of the Valley - or the 'weed nuns', as they're also known - grow and harvest their own cannabis plants and believe they're on a mission to heal and empower women with their products.

The sisterhood stresses that its seven members, despite the moniker, do not 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," 58-year-old Sister Kate, who founded the sisterhood in 2014, told Reuters.

The group says its Holy Trinity is the marijuana plant - specifically hemp, a strain of marijuana that has very low levels of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive compound in the plant.

The 'weed nuns' say the Trump administration has strengthened their resolve.

"The thing Trump has done for us is put a fire under our butts to get launched in another country," said Kate. "Our response to Trump is Canada."

The group makes online sales to Canada, and has now launched an operation there.

Reuters