Health Dept: It's Illegal To Get Lobsters High In Maine

A Maine restaurant that made headlines for getting its lobsters high on marijuana before cooking them has just been ordered to stop.

Charlotte Gill, owner of Charlotte's Legendary Lobster Pound, said using marijuana smoke to sedate the lobsters was 'more humane'.

It's unknown if lobsters feel pain as we imagine when they're boiled alive.  As silly as it sounds, there are indeed scientific arguments which explain why lobsters are in fact incapable of feeling such pain.

The effects of marijuana/THC on lobsters is also a bit hazy.  And while it's true that in humans, THC can cause relaxation, certain kinds can also cause extreme paranoia.  

I don't doubt that Ms. Gill knew what kind of marijuana strains to give to her lobsters.  But again, we have no idea as to how the lobster actual feels after getting "dosed."  While unlikely, it's possible that the lobsters' "fear" or "panic" was actually intensified afterward.

(A photo of a person dressed in a lobster costume.)

Taking everything into consideration, now the State Health Department says it's illegal.

A health official says food that is "affected by marijuana" is illegal to sell, even though Gill grows her pot legally.  Gill and her employees say they took urine tests after eating one of the lobsters and found no trace of THC.

Bummer. I guess Maine lobsters are just gonna have to man up, and take the plunge like alllll the other lobsters in American restaurants.

Read more over at People.

Photos by Getty Images.


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