In a bizarre twist of events, a herd of sheep recently “invaded” a greenhouse in Thessaly, Greece, consuming roughly 100 kg of medicinal cannabis.
The greenhouse, located near the town of Almyros in Magnesia, had already sustained severe damage due to Storm Daniel, with its owner grappling with the aftermath of both extreme weather and now hungry livestock.
The incident followed deadly floods in central Greece, which have had a catastrophic impact on livestock and agriculture. Libya is another nation currently struggling with the devastation caused by floods.
According to Mayor Yiannis Kokouras of Tyrnavos, over 100,000 animals were killed in the flooding, with the region’s agricultural infrastructure in ruins.
Roads are destroyed and thousands of acres of farmland submerged, exacerbating the dire circumstances for farmers in Thessaly, often referred to as Greece’s breadbasket.
The shepherd noted the sheep’s “strange behaviour” soon after the inadvertent cannabis feast, quickly realising the source of their altered state. “I don’t know if it’s for laughing or crying,” the cannabis greenhouse owner lamented to TheNewspaper.gr, a local news website. “We had the heatwave, lost a lot of production. Then the floods took almost everything. Now this herd consumes what was left. I honestly don’t know what to say.”
The misadventure comes amid a rising interest in pharmaceutical cannabis in Greece, noted for its potentially transformative effects on the struggling agricultural sector.
As of January 2023, Greece’s first-ever medicinal cannabis production plant was inaugurated near Corinth, a development lauded by Greek Development & Investments Minister Adonis Georgiadis.
The situation poses a significant setback, not just for the beleaguered cannabis farmer but also for a region grappling with multiple crises.
While the illicit cannabis dining experience of the sheep offers a moment of tragicomedy, it serves as a poignant reminder of the complex challenges facing Greek farmers today.
