By: Miaomiao Yu

Last Wednesday, a secret marijuana facility outside the town of Mildura in northern Victoria was discovered due to the reddish-tinged lights it uses to grow cannabis.

Nikea Champion, a Mildura citizen, first thought it was a really bright red moon – before realizing the light was originating from the ground.

“All these end of the world scenarios were going through my head,” she told the BBC. “I was having a big Stranger Things moment – I’m like, Vecna? Is that you?” she said, referencing a villain from the TV series.

The facility usually used darkened blinds to block the lights at night, but this time the blinds didn’t work. A pinkish glow could be seen an hour away from the facility due to a “sunset on steroids” created by the lights reflecting off the clouds in the sky.

“I cracked up laughing… it could have been something so much cooler, but was just medical marijuana grow lights basically,” Ms. Champion said.

Reddish-tinged lights help cannabis grow by promoting budding and flowering. Too much of the lights cause harm to the plant in earlier stages, but it makes cannabis grow faster during the flowering stage.

Many countries started legalizing marijuana in the 2000s. Australia legalized medicinal marijuana in 2016, but recreational use remains banned. More than 260,000 prescriptions have been approved in Australia since then, usually for relieving chronic pain, anxiety, and sleep disorders.

However, charges for possession remain high, with 71,151 people being prosecuted for marijuana-related crimes in 2018-19. Few growing facilities remain out there, and their locations remain top secret for security.