A chef in Maine is getting her lobsters high with marijuana before cooking them in hopes of giving them a more humane way to die. As you may know, lobsters are traditionally boiled alive. This method still doesn't change that, but rather attempts to get the lobsters so stoned they won't really give a damn. PETA won't be impressed, but cannabis users might get excited to blaze and boil it.

Charlotte Gill is the owner of Charlotte’s Legendary Lobster Pound in Maine. She's also a licensed medical marijuana caregiver. Despite owning a lobster restaurant for seven years, she told the Mount Desert Islander that she felt bad when lobsters showed up to be killed with "no exit strategy." So she picked out a lobster named Roscoe and literally hotboxed him. He chilled out. He didn't snap his claws. He seemed relaxed. Now, Gill's restaurant will have a hotboxing tank to sedate more lobsters, with a pump to infuse the water with pot smoke. (Roscoe was thanked for his service and released back into the ocean.)



And if you're a not-chill person who wants their lobster to die the old-fashioned way? Gill will still serve lobsters that were never under the influence. But she says the marijuana never gets to the diner.

"THC breaks down completely by 392 degrees, therefore we will use both steam as well as a heat process that will expose the meat to 420 degree extended temperature, in order to ensure there is no possibility of carryover effect (even though the likelihood of such would be literally impossible)," she said.

She also swears the hotbox lobsters' meat becomes even more delectable.

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As Eater points out, Switzerland put a ban on boiling lobsters alive this year. Instead, Swiss chefs are encouraged to sedate the lobsters by electrocuting them or stabbing them in the eyes before throwing them in the water—neither of which option sounds terribly humane. A 2013 study also suggested lobsters and crabs experience pain.

Is a high lobster a happier lobster? Could be. Or maybe it's just frozen from the frightening experience of its first hit. What's for certain is that the pursuit of more humane methods to employ in our livestock and fishing industries is a worthy one. Unfortunately, marijuana is still illegal in most states, so we won't be debating cannabis crustacean ethics anytime soon. But Maine, which legalized recreational weed, is giving us something to think about.



Sarah Rense Sarah Rense is the Associate Lifestyle Editor at Esquire, where she covers tech, food, drink, home, and more.

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