Back in 2014, ex-Alaskan news anchor Charlo Greene went viral after quitting her job on live television while at the same time revealing that she was the owner of the Alaska Cannabis Club. The live resignation wasn’t exactly a graceful moment, as Greene explicitly exclaimed “and as for this job, well, not that I have a choice but, fuck it, I quit.” However, what it did do was bring attention to both her business venture and the overall cannabis industry in Alaska.
After leaving her job as a local news reporter, Greene became a full-fledged advocate for recreational marijuana in the state. Later that year, Alaska passed a law that legalized the cultivation, sale, and possession of cannabis, but at the time Greene revealed her business venture on live television, regulations had yet to be finalized, meaning that the Alaska Cannabis Club was operating in violation of the law.
Now, the outspoken cannabis advocate is being charged with 14 criminal offenses, and if convicted, she could potentially face up to 54 years in prison. According to the Guardian, the Alaska Cannabis Club allegedly sold “memberships” to people and supplied cannabis to those who made these “donations”. In 2015, not long after she went viral for quitting on live television, undercover detectives began investigating her business, making six purchases and seizing more than $20,000 worth of marijuana at the Alaska Cannabis Club between the months of March and August.
The 28-year-old Greene, who is also African-American, has called the recent onslaught of charges a “modern day lynching”, which is especially concerning considering that African-American individuals are usually given longer sentences for drug-related cases than their white counterparts. Greene’s sister, Jennifer Egbe, was disturbed by the fact that they were watching their family business for so long. Although Greene was not directly involved in any of these undercover transactions, she was found criminally responsible because the business is registered under her name.
In 2015, Greene was charged with four counts of felony controlled substance misconduct and four misdemeanors that could potentially have landed her in prison for 24 years. Since then, she has been charged with six additional counts, meaning that she could now face up to 54 years in prison. Greene has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and is scheduled to go to trial in the coming months.
