BREAKING HABITS
***
Director: Robert Ryan
Screenwriter: Robert Ryan
Principal cast:
Christine Meeusen (aka Sister Kate)
The Sisters of the Valley
Sheriff Vern Warnke
Country: UK
Classification: M
Runtime: 87 mins.
Australian release date: 18 April 2019
Previewed at: Dendy Newtown, Sydney, on 2 April 2019.
Rob Ryan’s first feature documentary for cinema release (he’s previously made docs for television), Breaking Habits, is an interesting foray into the growing of medicinal cannabis by Christine Meeusen (aka Sister Kate), a woman who found a positive way to turn her life around after discovering that her previous one was a sham. She was a high-flying corporate executive who, after 17 years of seemingly happy marriage, discovered that her devoted stay-at-home husband was in fact a polygamous fraudster who’d siphoned off most of her earnings into foreign bank accounts. Incredibly, he got away with it, leaving Christine penniless, homeless and with three young children to look after.
What’s a woman to do? Well, in this case, Christine reinvented herself and could not have chosen a more disparate way to do so. Moving in with her brother on his property in Merced in the Central Valley of California, they began to cultivate cannabis, which was not only lucrative, but also controversial (in California it is legal to grow up to six plants for personal use; by combining with her sibling, she reckoned they could grow 12). Unfortunately, the relationship with her brother deteriorated and he tossed her out of his home. Christine, who by now was calling herself Sister Kate, formed the Sisters of the Valley, a group of “anarchist, activist nuns”. Starting afresh, she and the Sisters specialised in cultivating marijuana that was high in cannabidiol [CBD] as the active ingredient and low in tetrahydrocannabinol [THC], and distributing it to people for medicinal use, because CBD does not have the same psychoactivity as THC. Regardless, their endeavours became a bone of contention for the local sheriff who thought they were just out to ‘get high’ and the local pastor who thought they were ‘dealers’. The Sisters were also at the mercy of local drug gangs who attempted to steal their plants, resulting in the need for arming themselves; after all, the growing of marijuana was a cash cow for black market thieves. Thus, they put a new twist on the words of the song, “Sisters are doin’ it for themselves”.
Ryan’s approach is both informative and frustrating. Sister Kate is forthright and articulate - she put her corporate skills into practise in a completely different manner and, rather than crumple after being deceived, succeeded in showing her mettle and created a radical way of living that is a challenge to religious and state authorities. She totally transformed her way of thinking. While the ‘old’ Christine voted for Ronald Reagan, the ‘new’ Sister Kate has a placard in her house saying, ‘Respect Existence or Expect Resistance’. The director explains, “The fact that she has persevered with her philosophy to heal, often in dangerous circumstances, has to be commended and is a testament to her on-going courage. She is fearless and nothing is going to stop this business woman in her quest”. Sister Kate also claims that her business pays taxes, provides products for those in need and will ultimately deliver much-needed jobs for the people of Merced. On the other hand, the documentary raises a number of questions that remain unanswered, like why her group is so persecuted if their products are low in THC, and how did her husband escape prosecution, to list just two.
Regardless of one’s opinion of the recreational use of marijuana, you’d have to be a bit of a dope (ahem!) not to recognise its medicinal benefits. These products have been able to assist with a number of medical conditions, including pain relief, which is in itself better than the overuse of opiates which are responsible for so many premature deaths in the USA. Breaking Habits is an usual story about a highly unusual woman and Ryan brings it to life through the use of old home movies, TV and newsreel footage, and extensive interviews. As he says, it “offers us a front row seat into a new world of CBD and its potential to offer a natural alternative to pain relief and cure for numerous medical conditions”.
Screenwriter: Robert Ryan
Principal cast:
Christine Meeusen (aka Sister Kate)
The Sisters of the Valley
Sheriff Vern Warnke
Country: UK
Classification: M
Runtime: 87 mins.
Australian release date: 18 April 2019
Previewed at: Dendy Newtown, Sydney, on 2 April 2019.
Rob Ryan’s first feature documentary for cinema release (he’s previously made docs for television), Breaking Habits, is an interesting foray into the growing of medicinal cannabis by Christine Meeusen (aka Sister Kate), a woman who found a positive way to turn her life around after discovering that her previous one was a sham. She was a high-flying corporate executive who, after 17 years of seemingly happy marriage, discovered that her devoted stay-at-home husband was in fact a polygamous fraudster who’d siphoned off most of her earnings into foreign bank accounts. Incredibly, he got away with it, leaving Christine penniless, homeless and with three young children to look after.
What’s a woman to do? Well, in this case, Christine reinvented herself and could not have chosen a more disparate way to do so. Moving in with her brother on his property in Merced in the Central Valley of California, they began to cultivate cannabis, which was not only lucrative, but also controversial (in California it is legal to grow up to six plants for personal use; by combining with her sibling, she reckoned they could grow 12). Unfortunately, the relationship with her brother deteriorated and he tossed her out of his home. Christine, who by now was calling herself Sister Kate, formed the Sisters of the Valley, a group of “anarchist, activist nuns”. Starting afresh, she and the Sisters specialised in cultivating marijuana that was high in cannabidiol [CBD] as the active ingredient and low in tetrahydrocannabinol [THC], and distributing it to people for medicinal use, because CBD does not have the same psychoactivity as THC. Regardless, their endeavours became a bone of contention for the local sheriff who thought they were just out to ‘get high’ and the local pastor who thought they were ‘dealers’. The Sisters were also at the mercy of local drug gangs who attempted to steal their plants, resulting in the need for arming themselves; after all, the growing of marijuana was a cash cow for black market thieves. Thus, they put a new twist on the words of the song, “Sisters are doin’ it for themselves”.
Ryan’s approach is both informative and frustrating. Sister Kate is forthright and articulate - she put her corporate skills into practise in a completely different manner and, rather than crumple after being deceived, succeeded in showing her mettle and created a radical way of living that is a challenge to religious and state authorities. She totally transformed her way of thinking. While the ‘old’ Christine voted for Ronald Reagan, the ‘new’ Sister Kate has a placard in her house saying, ‘Respect Existence or Expect Resistance’. The director explains, “The fact that she has persevered with her philosophy to heal, often in dangerous circumstances, has to be commended and is a testament to her on-going courage. She is fearless and nothing is going to stop this business woman in her quest”. Sister Kate also claims that her business pays taxes, provides products for those in need and will ultimately deliver much-needed jobs for the people of Merced. On the other hand, the documentary raises a number of questions that remain unanswered, like why her group is so persecuted if their products are low in THC, and how did her husband escape prosecution, to list just two.
Regardless of one’s opinion of the recreational use of marijuana, you’d have to be a bit of a dope (ahem!) not to recognise its medicinal benefits. These products have been able to assist with a number of medical conditions, including pain relief, which is in itself better than the overuse of opiates which are responsible for so many premature deaths in the USA. Breaking Habits is an usual story about a highly unusual woman and Ryan brings it to life through the use of old home movies, TV and newsreel footage, and extensive interviews. As he says, it “offers us a front row seat into a new world of CBD and its potential to offer a natural alternative to pain relief and cure for numerous medical conditions”.
