Restoring Tradition with CBD

In a culture where spiritual tradition doesn’t seem to hold much merit, the Sisters of the Valley have created a new calling, which pays homage to Catholic and Native American traditions.  In January 2015, Christine Meeusen, now known as Sister Kate, began her cannabis company Sisters of the Valley. Sister Kate, who was initially known, by the media as “Sister Occupy” morphed into the tincture-making activist she is today after starting her business as a non-profit cannabis organization.

“It is medicinal.  It is nutritional.  It is a gentle gateway drug off of pharmaceuticals.”

Seeing that her CBD tinctures and oils sold well and recognizing the miraculous benefits that these products had on people with conditions that were otherwise untreatable, Sister Kate thought, “What would the female equivalent of the Pope be?” With this in mind, she decided to provide an apprenticeship to a young girl, and in September of 2015, Sister Darcey came on board, helping Sister Kate grow, extract and distribute CBD products.

Appearing as traditional nuns, the Sisters of the Valley are a new age religion, dedicated to helping their community. The sisters grow their CBD plants from their home in Merced, California where they run their business. The reason for this is spiritual, as Sister Kate states in an interview with ABC 30, “We studied with the Natives, and we’re trying to follow ancient wisdom customs.” Adding that, women in ancient times would not leave their homes for resources, but were self-sufficient. Other ancient traditions the sisters follow are making medicine on the new moon and bottling them on a full moon.

Although the sisters initially planned on being self-sufficient, high demand of their products gave them no choice but to turn to outside resources for supplies. In the interview with ABC 30, Sister Kate mentioned that they now take assistance from a university in Italy for crystalized CBD for their oils and tinctures and other women growers in Mendocino County for high CBD leaf, as well as their own.

“We studied with the Natives, and we’re trying to follow ancient wisdom customs.”

While the media and cannabis advocates support the sisters’ efforts, and as their business is proof of the financial benefits of medical cannabis, the Merced City Council sees otherwise. Recently the sisters tried to get the council to revoke its ban on cannabis production within the county, but at a meeting that occurred on January 5, 2016 the council decided to keep its ban for now, but plans on creating new, less restrictive legislation in the future.

CULTURE spoke with Sister Kate who told us first hand about the council’s decision, but says that she does not feel that anything will happen if her and Sister Darcey continue to produce and sell their products. Sister Kate knows the powers of cannabis and how it is truly a miracle drug having stated, “I nursed my nephew off of a heroin addiction using cannabis. I nursed my son off a meth addiction (picked up at Fresno State, believing he was doing molly), using cannabis. I have seen Parkinson’s patients go from being unable to put a spoon to the mouth, to complete functionality after smoking a half of a joint. It is medicinal. It is nutritional. It is a gentle gateway drug off of pharmaceuticals.”

While the City Council takes its time creating new cannabis legislation in Merced, the sisters have created a non-profit organization, Central Valley Citizens for Cannabis Commerce and Research, who are working countywide to lift bans on cannabis production by going town to town and raising awareness.