A herd of hungry sheep in Greece raided a greenhouse and ate around 100kg of medicinal cannabis that was grown there, according to local media reports.
The sheep were looking for fresh grass to eat after extreme flooding caused by Storm Daniel destroyed many areas of farmland near the town of Almyros, in central Greece.
The owner of the cannabis crop, Vangelis Koutsovitis, said he had lost most of his production due to the heatwave, the floods, and now the sheep.
“They found green stuff to eat. They were very hungry and they ate everything,” he told Sky News.
He said he had invested a lot of money and time in growing the cannabis plants, which were supposed to be for medicinal purposes, not for sheep.
“It was a disaster. I had invested a lot of money and time in this crop. It was supposed to be for medicinal purposes, not for sheep,” he said.
A shepherd who witnessed the incident, Giorgos Stathis, said he noticed strange behaviour in the herd after they consumed the cannabis plants.
“I saw them behaving strangely. They were moving in circles, running up and down, and bleating loudly,” he said.
He said he did not know what to do with the sheep, and feared they might have some adverse effects from the cannabis.
A police officer who visited the scene, Nikos Karakostas, said they were investigating the case and had taken samples of the cannabis plants and the sheep’s blood for analysis.
“We are investigating the case. We have taken samples of the cannabis plants and the sheep’s blood for analysis,” he said.
He said they would also check if the owner of the cannabis crop had a licence to grow it legally.
A veterinarian who examined the herd, Maria Papadopoulou, said it was a very unusual situation and they did not know what effects the cannabis may have on the sheep’s health and behaviour.
“This is a very unusual situation. We don’t know what effects the cannabis may have on the sheep’s health and behaviour,” she said.
She said they would monitor the sheep closely and provide them with any necessary treatment.
Relevant articles:
– Keep off that grass: Herd of sheep eats 100kg of cannabis in Greece after Storm Daniel floods, Sky News, 25 September 2023
– Sheep wander into greenhouse, eat 600 pounds of marijuana plants, MSN, 25 September 2023
– Stay off the grass! Herd of sheep are found ‘behaving strangely’ after munching through 220lbs of cannabis plants when they broke into a greenhouse during flood in Greece, MSN, 26 September 2023
– Sheep binge on 600 pounds of pot: ‘They found green stuff to eat’, New York Post, 27 September 2023