You remember Charlo Greene, don't you? The now-28-year-old woman who in 2014 famously announced she was running the Alaska Cannabis Club, said "fuck it," and promptly quit her job as a reporter for Alaska's KTVA mid-broadcast? That same woman is now facing up to 24 years in prison, The Guardian reports.
After she quit on air, Greene dedicated her life to helping legalize recreational weed in Alaska (which happened soon after). Even after the initiative passed, Alaska had no regulations in place yet for retailing marijuana and in that time, the state raided Greene's club (six times were undercover purchases and two times were actual raids) and subsequently charged her with eight criminal offenses of "misconduct involving a controlled substance": "It could literally cost me the rest of my adult life," Greene told The Guardian. She pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Greene originally became interested in weed as an alternative to alcohol in college and from there realized how it could help people medicinally. She began organizing private events for patients at the club and expanding the organization. She never planned to curse or quit on live television, she "just spoke from my heart for the first time," when she did so during a segment featuring her club.
The Guardian reports the state of Alaska is just now approving licenses to retailers to sell marijuana, but none of the 17 approved businesses are yet open. Greene awaits trial (which begins in the next few months) anxiously: "It casts a cloud over every laugh and every triumph and everything that I'm building and looking forward to."
Read her interview in full here.
