Reporter who quit on-air to fight for pot legalization faces decades in prison
Charlo Greene became a viral sensation overnight when, on September 22, 2014, she quit on live television in order to fight for marijuana.
Charlo Greene became a viral sensation overnight when, on Sept. 22, 2014, she quit on live television in order to fight for marijuana.
She shocked herself and her coworkers when she was covering the Alaska Cannabis Club in a news report and admitted on-air that not only was she a proponent of marijuana, but also she was the owner of the club she was covering. She declared, “F*** it, I quit,” before walking off camera, earning her instant viral fame.
But now, she is facing decades in prison for her club, which has faced several undercover operations and raids, ultimately leading to her being charged with eight offenses of “misconduct involving a controlled substance.”
“It’s almost dizzying when you try to make sense of it,” Greene told the Guardian. “It could literally cost me the rest of my adult life.”
In fact, Greene faces 24 years in prison if she is convicted.
Greene calls the case against her a “modern day lynching” and points to the fact that it is often people of color who are hit with long prison sentences for even minor drug offenses. She and her advocates say it points to the effects of the war on drugs fueling mass incarceration.
Although it’s unlikely that Greene will face years in prison and more likely that she will be fined, the specter of prison still looms over Greene.
“It casts a cloud over every laugh and every triumph and everything that I’m building and looking forward to.”
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