During this season of giving and togetherness, it’s only expected that some folks made Santa’s naughty list: Police found hundreds of cannabis plants at a cannabis factory in the town of Nuneaton, Warwickshire in England, according to a Daily Mail report. Perhaps as a way to help disguise the plants or maybe a festive coincidence, the cultivators also wrapped up “like Christmas trees,” police said.
Police reportedly seized hundreds of thousands of pounds of cannabis at Nuneaton factory, which were lined up in rows and fashioned like Christmas trees, saying they believed the plants held a six-figure value. Two people were also arrested on suspicion of cultivating the plants and taken into custody for questioning.
According to a Nuneaon and Bedworth Police Facebook post, there was a substantial heat source coming from the premises that appeared to be unused.
“Officers untilised [sic] police powers to force entry arresting two suspects for cultivation of cannabis,” the post reads. “This resulted in hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of cannabis being taken off the streets and removing a significant safety concern for neighbouring properties. Overall, a very good day at the office,” the post concludes with a thumbs-up emoji, along with a prompt encouraging those who may suspect a cannabis grow to report the activity to the police.
The post also includes a number of photos of the cannabis plants, each fashioned with a collection of ropes meeting at the top and resembling a cone shape.
Commenters had a mixed reception to the message. Most of the comments on the post were sarcastic or jesting with the language in the police post, including, “We are so safe right now,” with a handful of laughing emoji, “I’ll help dispose of these plants safely,” and “Liked and shared. Hope I win,” with two praying hand emoji.
On a photo of budding plants posted by police, someone joked that they were “Next year’s [sic] Christmas trees!!!” Another nodded to the shape of the cannabis plants and the ropes fashioned to them, “Were they deliberately trying to disguise them as Christmas trees. That’s brilliant and some cheek if so.”
Cannabis is still illegal to grow, possess or distribute in the United Kingdom and classified as a Class B drug, meaning that any person caught with cannabis risks up to five years imprisonment, a fine or both. Those caught with a small amount of cannabis, generally less than an ounce, may be subject to a warning or an on-the-spot fine if possession is deemed to be for personal use.
England offers medical cannabis through the National Health Service (NHS), though it’s been notoriously hard to obtain. Currently, medical cannabis is only likely to be prescribed for children and adults with rare and severe forms of epilepsy, adults with vomiting or nausea caused by chemotherapy and people with muscle stiffness and spasm caused by multiple sclerosis.
The NHS site even admits, “Very few people in England are likely to get a prescription for medical cannabis.” And even among those who need medical cannabis and fit the requirements, obtaining medical cannabis products can still be challenging.
A number of these stories have become prominent since the U.K. legalized medical cannabis, often coming from parents of children with treatment-resistant epilepsy attempting to access the plant medicine for their kids. One British mother and her 3-year-old son shared their story earlier this year. The boy, Isaac, was diagnosed with Lujan-Fryns syndrome, a developmental disorder which has left him unable to walk, talk or eat, and exhausted other methods. Unfortunately, his mother was unable to find an NHS doctor who would prescribe it, even though the treatment worked for other children like hers.
It’s unclear if and when cannabis legislation will open up in the U.K., but the cannabis cultivators in this holiday bust are probably wishing for some reform this holiday season, or at the very least a more elusive grow site.
