Reporter who quit on air to fight for pot legalization could face decades in prison

I'm sure many of you will remember the woman who quit her job, live on air, to advocate for marijuana legalisation.



She went on to become a full time advocate to help Alaskans to access legal marijuana.

www.theguardian.com...

Charlo Greene did not plan to curse on live television, but on 22 September 2014, the words came pouring out.

Then a reporter for KTVA, a station in Alaska, Greene ended her segment on marijuana by revealing that she was a proponent of legalization – and was the owner of the Alaska Cannabis Club, the subject of her news report.

“F*ck it, I quit,” she said, before abruptly walking off camera. The 26-year-old’s stunt shocked her colleagues and made her a viral sensation overnight.

Despite the fact that marijuana is now legal for recreational purposes, Charlo Greene's own operations have been subject to a high level of scrutiny and she may be looking at a long time in jail.

But despite the voter-approved initiative, Alaska has not helped her start a legitimate marijuana operation. On the contrary, the state launched a series of undercover operations and raids at her club, ultimately charging her with eight serious criminal offenses of “misconduct involving a controlled substance”.

If convicted, she could face 24 years behind bars.

Charlo Greene allowed herself to be caught in the area where the substance was legal but the retail side of thing was not.

The 2014 measure – which legalized the manufacture, sale and possession of marijuana – went into effect in February 2015. The state, however, had not yet finalized its regulations for retail operations and in the interim, the Alaska Cannabis Club allowed people to purchase “memberships” – supplying marijuana when members made “donations”.

Detectives immediately targeted the operation, with six undercover purchases and two raids in a five-month period, records show.

“The fact that they were watching us for so long, I kind of felt violated,” said Jennifer Egbe, Greene’s 26-year-old sister, who helped out at the club. “I was really just heartbroken. I never assumed it would go this far.”

Essentially it seems that Greene acted prematurely in opening her club. She may have been a bit too keen to sell the substance without waiting for the required approvals, but is a potential 24 year jail sentence appropriate?

But even if Greene’s club was premature, critics said she should’ve been issued a fine or citation in line with the punishment for selling alcohol without a liquor license.

There seems to be no benefit to incarcerating Greene, other than to punish her for being overzealous in her rush to sell marijuana.

Is she a dangerous threat to society? She quite stupidly made herself a target for law enforcement by starting her business before it was legal, but a large jail sentence seems disproportionate for the crime she committed.

No punishment will suffice this is a serious travesty.

This is the world we live in...

Where the growing/distribution/partaking of a burning plant can land you massive jail time.



Sad.

She needed legal advice then.

And she needs legal advice now.

a reply to: cuckooold

She should have just run for office, lied, taken bribes, destroyed classified materials.

Then she could be president.

But push for legalization?

Destroy her.

It makes no sense.

Who does she think she is.......Hillary Clinton?
Only crooked Hillary could get away with this and have all of her employees get immunity.

Nope, she's not Hillary so see ya in 24 years.

I do remember this.
I'm amazed it's taken this long for the establishment to put her in chains.
I guess that's what she gets for trying to oppose the powers that be, though. A government for the people, of the people my ass...

What a sad commentary on our current reality.

Maybe this reporter *should* run for potus- she's probably more qualified than the existing options. At the very least, LESS corrupt.

Sounds like they've earned their jail time.

They were watching for 5 + months...ffs....and undercover purchasing....
This is a massive drain on taxes just sovthe cops can get revenge.....this world is screwed....

a reply to: cuckooold

One of the hallmarks of a slave society is that they will lock you up for using a food/medicine/resource that you can grow because it threatens the masters profits...

Utterly disgusting, this woman is a hero, the people of Alaska better demand her freedom, even better get that jury to learn about Jury Nullification!!

a reply to: cuckooold

Huraaay!!!! for turning ppl into criminals so big pharma can sell the pill form making billions.
Did I heard someone say we live in a capitalist democracy??

Big Pharma Shaking in Their Boots as 80% of Cannabis Users Give Up Prescriptions Pills for Pot Read more at thefreethoughtproject.com...

In addition, 52% said they substituted cannabis for alcohol and 32% said they substituted it for illicit substances. These results indicate a very promising trend of people moving away from dangerously addictive and deadly substances in favor of a miracle plant that has never caused an overdose death.

On another note this promising new economy will end up not benefiting Juan ,Tyrone and Natty E Dread who mostly because of the stringent rules including former incarcerations, benefit will be Chad's a former illegal dealer who never came under scrutiny and never did jail time.

a reply to: cuckooold

Hopefully she gets a good legal team to work on her behalf.

I'm glad I live in a state where recreational cannabis use is legal.

Civil disobedience has a price which many have paid.

She won't get 24 years.

Oh for # sake, just tax her.

I will never understand these ridiculous prison sentences.

Prison should only be for people that are a danger to others.

This woman clearly is not. Now I am not suggesting no punishment. Put her on house arrest, making her do volunteer work, making her pay a large fine.

Why force the taxpayers to put up money to keep a clearly non violent person locked up? She could be punished while contributing to society.

a reply to: DBCowboy

Or she should have pushed her Sales team so hard that they felt obligated to open 2 million fake accounts at her store without customers knowledge. Then she could have paid herself $60 milliom, and just been subject to salary clawback of about 2/3 of that.

/sarc

In all seriousness, It's just one more circus to go with the bread to try to distract the average American with how messed up the system is at the moment.

The only real risk to pot comes from the police.

These laws are only in plce to protect you from the police when you break the law by possessing pot. Because other than the police, what other threat does marijuana present to justify its legal position?

We all pay taxes to keep this system funded. In case anyone forgot. And the result: the above circular logic.

originally posted by: Lysergic
Oh for # sake, just tax her.

Thats a simple solution, eh?

Perhaps there is more to be gained by forcing her out of mainstream and into illicit trade? I mean, you don't get federal $$$ without showing the need. Its a twofer: they get to make their example while keeping illicit trade going