Maine restaurant seducing lobsters with marijuana to relieve the pain of cooking

A restaurant in Seawall, Maine, is famous for cooking "legendary" lobsters, but it does not want crustaceans to leave this world in pain. So, Charlotte's legendary Lobster Pound says some lobsters are bred before they meet their manufacturer.

The restaurant's owner, Charlotte Gill, spoke to The Mount Desert Islander about why she chose to "hot box" the lobsters. "I feel bad when lobsters come here, there is no exit strategy," Gill said. She first tried the technique on a lobster named Roscoe.

Roscoe was placed in a box containing about two inches of water. The marijuana smoke was blown into the water through a hole in the bottom, and Roscoe was "cooked". Marijuana is legal in Maine and Roscoe seemed to enjoy his first time – he was much quieter when he was put back in the tank with other lobsters. As a reward for his participation in the experiment, the lobster was returned to the ocean, said Gill at Mount Desert Islander.

The experience has been a success and the restaurant lobsters can now be sedating at the request of the customer. "If we want to take a life, we have a responsibility to do it in the most humane way possible," said Gill, an animal rights advocate.

The restaurant owner holds a medical marijuana license and cultivates his own marijuana plants. She also has a license to pick and sell cooked lobster meat, she told Mount Desert Islander. Both cannabis and lobster will be provided by Gill, guaranteeing their quality.

Finding ways to reduce pain in lobsters is not a new concept. Earlier this year, Switzerland banned the usual cooking method of throwing live lobster into a large pot of boiling water, saying it was cruel because lobsters can feel the pain, KHOU reported.

Gill argues that the gentler killing method will make the animal happier and that happier lobsters mean better eating meat. "The difference she makes in the meat itself is incredible," she said. "All you put in your body is energy."

The restaurant owner hopes that by next year, all lobsters will be sedated before being steamed. She insists that eating lobster under sedation will not make you go up, but says that customers will still be able to cook their lobster in a traditional way.