Church Member Demands Trial for Cannabis Minister Detained Over 3 Years, Date Scheduled
Reverend Roger Christie
Reverend Roger Christie has been detained for more than 3 years without a trial, under federal charges of distributing marijuana to members of his congregation. Arrested July 8, 2010, he has been held without bail as a pre-trial detainee in Honolulu Federal Detention Center for over 36 months. Finally, thanks to a member of his congregation, he has a hearing scheduled.
Mike Ruggles filed a petition of Habeas Corpus with the United States District Court in Honolulu on July 23, 2013, demanding that Rev. Christie be given a court date. “Roger was a pillar of the community and he is sorely missed”, Ruggles said, speaking on the Reverend’s absence. Rev. Christie operated the The Hawaii Cannabis (THC) Ministry, founding it in the early 2000s. “Since Roger has been gone, meth use and violent crime has gotten worse, not better. Roger’s influence on the community was more effective than 50 cops on the street.”
A hearing date has now been scheduled – July 29th at 10:30 a.m. and July 30 at 10:00 a.m. – where Reverend Christie intends to present his defense based on the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The hearing will take place in the Honolulu Federal Building Courtroom of U.S. District Judge Kobayashi, where THC Ministry could potentially regain their pastor.
– TheJointBlog
Roger Christie
Hello out there,
Aloha. After being denied fair and reasonable bail eight times (!), and then denied a fair trial with the right to defend ourselves with “the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth”, my wife Share and I took a conditional plea of guilty. We then filed an appeal of our convictions last October 30,2014 and the government recently answered us with their opposition on March 19th. We now have a deadline of May 8th to file an answer their answer.
I’ve already served 50 months in federal prison as my mandatory minimum 5 year sentence required. Share is still facing 27 months in prison if we lose the appeals. We’re both on Supervised Release right now with zero Cannabis allowed since July 8, 2010.
Spirit-willing, we’ll win our appeals at the Ninth Circuit Court in San Francisco later this year (summer?) and secure permanent legal recognition for sincere religious / spiritual use of Cannabis sacrament, or better. (And we’ll hopefully get my home and life savings returned.)
Our THC Ministry blessing:
God, that’s great! Please show us the blessings in THIS situation … and hurry!
We are safe, we are loved and all is well.
All the best to you and yours,
Roger Christie
http://www.thc-ministry.org
http://www.the-last-marijuana-trial.com
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