One of the most newsworthy—and controversial— cannabis advocates in recent memory took a plea deal on Monday, finally putting to rest some of the charges stemming from the illicit sale of marijuana at an Alaskan dispensary in 2015.
Charlo Greene Takes Plea Deal
Charlo Greene, whose legal name is Charlene Egbe, made headlines back in 2014, when the then-Anchorage-based news reporter quit her job mid-broadcast after revealing she was secretly the owner of the Alaska Cannabis Club—the very facility she was doing a report on at the time.
“Now everything you’ve heard is why I, the actual owner of the Alaska Cannabis Club, will be dedicating all of my energy toward fighting for freedom and fairness, which begins with legalizing marijuana here in Alaska,” she said during the broadcast. “And as for this job, well, not that I have a choice but, fuck it, I quit.”
Since then, she’s maintained a burgeoning second career as a cannabis advocate/entrepreneur. Unfortunately, she has been facing legal trouble since October 2015 when she was charged with 10 felonies and four misdemeanors stemming from an incident at her cannabis club.
Back in 2015, undercover officers purchased illicit marijuana from Greene in her clubhouse. After two raids following the initial sting, police found an additional six pounds of cannabis. While Greene maintained that she only distributed her product, which she also claimed to be purely donation-based, to a select group of legal medicinal patients, the sting operation proved otherwise. At the time, Alaska had not approved any sort of cannabis-related licensing, making the enigmatic Greene a target for strict punishment.
Two years later, Greene has officially reached a deal with prosecutors after admitting to selling illegal marijuana. On Monday, she agreed to plead guilty to a single count of misconduct involving a controlled substance in the fourth-degree—a felony. In exchange, Greene will have the other 13 charges dropped.
Thanks to the plea deal, Greene will avoid jail time altogether, which is a win in itself. Before the alleged plea deal, Greene faced up to 54 years in prison for her actions. Now, Greene is only subject to a $10,000 fine as well as the forfeiture of the items seized at the time of her initial arrest.
The official court date is set for Nov. 19.
Charlo Greene: A Renowned Cannabis Advocate
Since the time of her arrest, Greene has become one of the most active cannabis advocates in the country, using her viral fame as a way to get her message out to the community.
“I wanted to draw attention to this issue. And the issue is medical marijuana. Ballot Measure 2 is a way to make medical marijuana real,” she explained after initially quitting her reporter job with KTVA-TV. “Most patients didn’t know the state didn’t set up the framework to get patients their medicine.”
Since then, she’s released her own book, “Fuck It: A Guide To Letting Go and Living Free,” started her own talk show, The Weed with Charlo Greene, and debuted her own line of CBD products.
So while there has been some controversy surrounding her endeavors, it’s safe to say it was well worth it, as there were always “greener” pastures ahead for the pioneer.
