A woman was arrested in Wisconsin for allegedly handing out weed-infused cookies during a St. Patrick’s Day parade.
57-year-old Cathleen Krause was passing out the snacks during the holiday parade on Sunday, March 17, while also appearing ‘visibly intoxicated’ herself.
While many US states are now legalising marijuana, only medical marijuana is legal in Wisconsin, and is extremely limited. Recreational drug use such as this can lead to a fine of $1,000 of or six months in jail.
Krause was apprehended by officers after an unnamed person reported seeing her selling the baked goods, WBAY reports.
When police searched the woman, they found a ‘gallon-sized’ bag of cookie crumbs and gummy candies, all of which tested positive for marijuana.
Krause has been charged with two felony counts of delivering THC and possession of THC, and three misdemeanor charges of possession of a controlled substance.
The 57-year-old has been ordered to not leave the state of Wisconsin, and must maintain ‘absolute sobriety’. She was in court on March 18 to be charged, and will appear in court again on April 1 for an ‘adjourned initial appearance’.
While what Krause was doing during the St. Patrick’s Day parade was obviously illegal in Wisconsin, she’s not alone as, in other states, senior citizens are the fastest-growing demographic of marijuana users (though, at 57, Krause is not quite a senior citizen herself).
As the drug is now legal in more and more states, the senior generation is opening itself up to the uses and benefits of marijuana, with more people using it than ever before.
10 states in the US have now legalised recreational marijuana use, while 33 states have legalised the drug for medicinal use.
GettySitting in on a senior citizens lesson about cannabis, VICE spoke to residents of a nursing home in Seattle about the products they were using and how taking the drug has helped them.
Tracy Willis, the director of corporate development for the nursing homes, said:
I wouldn’t say it was my masterplan, [but] it definitely a by-product of my masterplan, which was to provide education for every resident and member of our communities.
When marijuana was legalised in Washington, everyone was talking about it. There was a Parkinson’s video going around where a gentleman who had never smoked marijuana before in his life was treated basically for his Parkinson’s symptoms.
We played that for a group of the residents and they all signed up, the sheet was full. This population is so much more open-minded than most people think.
Many residents of the nursing home found that CBD products, such as gels and rubs, helped soothe persistent aches and pains.
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Charlie Cocksedge is a journalist and sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated from the University of Manchester with an MA in Creative Writing, where he learnt how to write in the third person, before getting his NCTJ. His work has also appeared in such places as The Guardian, PN Review and the bin.