A police investigation in Hod Hasharon, Israel ended with the discovery of an illicit cannabis grow room sprouting in the courtyard of an infant day care center.
According to the Times of Israel, local law enforcement officers arrested the 54-year-old proprietor of the childcare facility after confiscating an estimated 1.5 kilograms of planted cannabis seedlings and a bag of what police called a “cannabis-type drug” from an employee locker.
When it comes to cannabis, Israel is one of the world’s most liberal nations. A recent decriminalization law has substituted most criminal charges for possession and consumption of marijuana with civil infractions, and the country removed penalties altogether for using cannabis in one’s own private home. Additionally, Israel has been a leader in medical marijuana progress, including groundbreaking research into everything from cannabinoids to terpenes.
But while Israel is generally lenient about pot, growing a retail-scale cultivation plot in the courtyard of an infant daycare center is a few steps past decriminalization’s purview.
Gallery — Photos of Cops Smoking Weed:
This summer, Israel has seen a number of protests pushing back against poor conditions in daycare centers, calling for oversight from government regulators after reports of abuse in childcare facilities. Outside of the illicit garden and bag of leafy green found in a locker, police did not say that they suspected any further wrongdoing from the woman in charge of the Hod Hasharon business.
The unidentified proprietor of the daycare center grow op was arrested during the raid, but was subsequently released on five days of house arrest while police continue their investigation. It is not yet clear if the woman will face criminal charges, but no matter how the case ends, we’re guessing that there are a lot of parents in Hod Hasharon already looking for a new babysitter.
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