Christine Meeusen
Christine Meeusen | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1959 |
| Other names | Sister Kate |
| Occupations | Owner, Sisters of the Valley |
Christine Meeusen (b. 1959 or 1960 (age 65–66)),[1] also known as "Sister Kate", is a Merced-based farmer and businessperson, best known as the founder and owner of Sisters of the Valley, a business specializing in high-CBD, low-THC preparations made from on-premises grown cannabis.[2][3][1]
Biography
Christine Meeusen was born into a Catholic family in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She married, had three children, and settled in Amsterdam, where she worked as a consultant. After she and her husband divorced, she experienced serious financial difficulties and returned to the United States with her children in 2009.[4] Upon arriving in California in 2010, she founded "Caregrowers", a medical cannabis company, with her brother. Also in 2010, Meeusen became involved in the Occupy Movement, donning a Halloween costume nun's habit and becoming known as "Sister Occupy".[5] In 2013 and 2014, Caregrowers closed and she began to adopt the nun persona full-time for her new company, Sisters of the Valley.[6] As of 2025, she continues to use the Sister Kate moniker and dress in the production of cannabis medicine.
She produces the medicine in a semi-cooperative operation in Merced, California, Sisters of the Valley, with her partner Darcy "Sister Darcy" Johnson and other temporary workers.[1] Meeusen, who does not identify with Christianity, considers the production to be a spiritual activity,[7] whose rituals and incorporate New Age practices and environmentalism,[8] "borrowing" from Native American practices.[9]
References
- ^ a b c Chavie Lieber (April 20, 2016), "A Higher Purpose Sister Kate and Sister Darcy aren't real nuns, but they do want to save you – with weed", Racked.com, Vox Media
- ^ Abby Haglage (January 24, 2016), "Sister Kate: the Vegan, Pot-Loving Feminist Behind Etsy's Cannabidiol Shop", The Daily Beast
- ^ Thaddeus Miller (December 9, 2015), "Merced users, advocates of medical marijuana gain a win", Merced Sun-Star
- ^ Angeles, Keiran Southern Los (2025-10-11). "Meet the 'cannabis nuns' of California who are praying for survival". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved 2025-10-28.
- ^ Jesse Hamlin (April 8, 2016), "Oakland Museum exhibition looks at pot from every angle", San Francisco Chronicle
- ^ Desjardin-Legalt, Georges (2024-09-16). "Faith, CBD and entrepreneurship: Meet the nuns who grow wellness hemp". ZEWEED. Retrieved 2025-10-28.
- ^ "California Bureaucrats Want Nuns to Stop Producing Marijuana Products", The Liberator, Advocates for Self-Government, January 5, 2016
- ^ Wong, Julia Carrie (2016-01-25). "Cannabis-growing 'nuns' grapple with California law: 'We are illegal'". the Guardian. Retrieved 2022-10-14.
- ^ Melia Robinson (April 4, 2016), "These nuns are the most talked-about women in the pot business", Business Insider