Medical marijuana grown by Valley ‘nuns’
The spiritual Sisters of the Valley hope to ease suffering through a centuries-old tradition familiar to many abbeys and cloisters. They do this by growing potent varieties of medical marijuana they say are rich in cannabidiols, the chemicals thought to reduce nausea, suppress seizures, lower inflammation and help with anxiety and depression.
They grow their main ingredient on their California land, harvested around the lunar cycle and cultivated during prayer. They then use this to make tinctures, lotions, salves, and various other products that, they say, have little or no THC which is the chemical that gets users high.
According to their website, their mission is to “respect the breadth and depth of the gifts of Mother Earth, working to bridge the gap between Her and her suffering people.” They say their allegiance is to a feminist ideal, to each other, and to their mission. They do wear habits and modest clothing though they are not officially connected to the Catholic Church.
Their story reached photographers John DuBois and Shaughn Crawford. The boys immediately knew that this is the perfect passion project for them. “We are drawn to stories, the ones that personally interest us, that focus on the unique people out there that you won’t know a lot about but should,” DuBois said. “People have an idea about people who grow cannabis and people may think they know about nuns, but it is in this place where the two intersect — this thin area where there is crossover — that’s interesting. That’s where we try to jump in.”
They convinced Sister Darcey and Sister Kate to let them in their door for a day to capture snippets of their normal routine. The sisters walked the photographers through their operation as they used simple crockpots and coffee filters to create the special mix that goes into their products.
When we do these projects, we are not just trying to capture the people, but we are also trying to show a glimpse of the places and things that go on around them,” DuBois said. “And the detail like their calendar with the water and growing cycles on the wall are all interesting details that really tell their story.”
The sisters have since moved to new land to expand their operation, and they’ve created their own website. They also hope someday soon to have enough money to roll out a wholesale operation and get their products into stores.
Source: CNN
