Christie Report: 8/7/14

Hello out there,

Aloha. I hope you’re doing great; enjoying the summer and the amazingly fast-growing (!) Cannabis credibility and legality.

I’m good. I’m highly motivated to get back to my relatively free life and outta here. I have a honeymoon and a new married life to get to with my beloved companion Share. What an activist love story we’re living. If you want specific questions answered just drop me a letter or send me a quick email. I appreciate your cards, letters, cash donations and books a lot.

I’m STILL incarcerated here in the Federal Detention Center at the Honolulu airport 5th floor Unit 5A prison cell 109. This unit is mostly for “short-timers,” guys getting ready to be released to the halfway house and then to home, and for a few inmates who are in ‘protective custody’ for one reason or another.

I was told that I’d be released to the T.J. Mahoney Hale halfway house in Honolulu back in March. Now I’m told that the B.O.P. Regional Office in California assigns the dates to go to the halfway house and when their paperwork arrives here I’ll be notified. I make the best of every day whatever condition my condition is in. tick-tock-tick-tock…

Thankfully, most of the C.O.’s (prison guards) support me and our cause and want us to win our case. I’m treated with respect from the guards and inmates alike, or ignored by them. Almost everyone likes Cannabis or they want to try it as soon as it’s legal. Most people in here see me as a political prisoner on a righteous mission — that obviously feels good to me.

Our biggest challenge is that Share is STILL facing 27 months in federal prison - UNLESS we win our appeals at the Ninth Circuit Court in San Francisco sometime in the next year or so. Our initial brief is due to be filed on October 30th. We need some practical help with our appeal: 1) amicus (friend of the court) briefs, plus 2) some cash donations to sustain us until I’m allowed to make money again after I’m released. For Share the stress of facing prison time, our government-imposed poverty, plus dealing with our farm and the details of both of our lives takes its toll. Please give her a support call and/or a hug whenever you can. And please consider sending us a cash donation. We’re down to our last few hundred dollars and our 6 year old iBook just died. (Just reporting — not complaining. Our blessings far exceed our challenges.) You know who we are and what we’re up to. Our success in securing the right to religious freedom for Cannabis is your right to religious freedom for Cannabis, and everyone’s. We must win this appeal. Thank you for helping us if you choose to do so.

Did you read that the THC Ministry was mentioned (negatively) in the recent Hobby Lobby U.S. Supreme Court case? See the “Huffington Post” report of March 25th for details. (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/26/hobby-lobby-religious-freedom_n_5036753.html) The Green family lawyer used the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) to help in their winning argument and reportedly put the THC Ministry down in doing so. They apparently neglected to say that we were ruled to be “sincere” and “legitimate” by our federal judge.

RFRA was passed by an Act of Congress in 1993 to ensure native Americans are allowed their sacramental peyote. It was used to secure sacramental ayahuasca in 2006. Now it’s time for Cannabis sacrament to get its rightful legal protection. I wrote to the Green family a few weeks ago to ask for their help in winning our religious freedom case for sacramental Cannabis even though they may choose to abstain from using it. I asked them for some legal help and a cash donation. It’s the fundamental principle of religious freedom that we’re advocating for in our case like the native Americans did. And I’ve long wanted to help bridge the gap between Cannabis and Christians. No answer or reply from the Greens so far.

Did you know that we WON our Motion for a Defense of Entrapment by Estopple? We were told to decline it by our lawyers. They said that winning our appeals is a much bigger win than just winning a trial based on entrapment. We’ll see.

Have you noticed with all the news lately about Cannabis that there’s still zero mention of the main reason most people use and have always used the herb — to get (spiritually) high? That’s interesting. I wonder what’s keeping that major factor out of the news and when will it be openly discussed?

My spiritual practices serve me well every day. I live in gratitude and do my best to turn bummers into blessings with my mind and my emotions. Here are my two favorite practices:

1. God, that’s great! Please show us the blessings in THIS situation… and hurry! We are safe, we are loved and all is well.

2. I’m sorry for any negativity or trouble that I’ve caused. Please forgive me. Thank you. I love you.

I also use the “law of attraction” (The Secret) and the Golden Rule, plus some N.L.P., Neuro-Linguistic Programming, in the mix. These all help me to find the “happy channel” in my mind, to overcome challenges and get through the day.

My book-in-progress is going slow, but it is coming together — and I’m stoked about it. We all have a unique story to tell and hopefully mine will generate large book sales and some speaking engagements and/or better. One of my other goals is that I want to be a guest on the “Coast to Coast” radio program.

Our friend Paul von Hartmann wrote something like this: “All it took to suspend due process of law, the First Amendment, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and our natural God-given right to access all the green plants was a fraudulent and slanderous accusation by prosecutors who are unaccountable for their obvious lies denigrating Roger Christie’s honorable character. Saying Roger is a ‘danger to the community’ for trying to stop the meth epidemic that follows the government’s marijuana eradication program in Hawaii and elsewhere reveals consequent criminality built-in to the prohibition model.

“The schizophrenic court has ‘ruled’ that although Share and Roger were ‘sincere’ and ‘legitimate,’ and ‘the government substantially burdened their legitimate religious practices,’ they still won’t be able to present an RFRA defense, or a religious defense. Judge Kobayashi ruled that Roger and Share (and ALL THC Ministry members!) COULD present a defense of entrapment. But she also ruled that Roger doesn’t deserve reasonable bail and must be kept imprisoned without a trial for almost 4 years. She also conspired with the government prosecutor to deny a fair trial where Roger and Share could ‘tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth’ to a jury.

“What kind of country do we have now with almost zero regard for civil liberties, Constitutional integrity and moral accountability for the truth? If you think a peaceful Cannabis Minister is more ‘dangerous to the community’ than a sociopathic/psychopathic government bent on extinctionistic policies than you are simply ignorant of reality. Where are the checks and balances that are supposed to stop and correct such unlawful government behavior? Please wake up, friends! Take action where you can to correct such blatant injustice.”

Thanks, Paul. What a good and passionate and articulate friend you are. I love your activist spirit!

C.D.S. Cannabis Deficiency Syndrome. Think about it. Lack of Cannabis. What causes so much unnecessary pain, crime, hard drug and alcohol addiction, disease, poverty, hunger, environmental destruction, spiritual disconnection and war in this world? Could it be the lack of Cannabis? Yes. Science tells us now that we’re all born with cannabinoid “receptors.” They need to be filled with the right amount of organic Cannabis somewhat like the right kind of oil needs to go into an engine for it to run properly. Fresh, raw Cannabis leaf and bud juice can help to fulfill this basic human need. See LEAF on YouTube.

What kind of people prohibit the main source of necessary natural ingredients for a healthy, wealthy and happy life for 7 billion people and counting? What kind of people prohibit the Cannabis hemp tree of life with its now scientifically-proven potential to feed, clothe, shelter, medicate and “heal the nations to end all the curses we face”? In my opinion, prohibitionists need to be prohibited from positions of power and influence. The damage they have done is beyond measure. They need to be voted out of office and their disastrous programs must be corrected immediately.

Cannabis contains the variety of cannabinoids necessary for optimum human health (Google cannabinoids and see). It also contains anandamide (“bliss stuff”) the scientific name for the special ingredient in Cannabis that causes happiness, laughter and joy. (Ananda is the Sanskrit word for bliss.) Remember the 60’s and the “peace and love” generation? What was the single biggest factor in all the consciousness raising, anti-war protesting, happiness and peace-vibe of those times? Lots of relatively low-THC Cannabis smoking! Were you there? I was. More Cannabis = more peace and love. Make love — not war. Grow health and wealth in a garden, a window box, or even in a closet. Simple. Watch Colorado’s crime and employment statistics before and after their legalization started for solid evidence of this theory at work. Their experience needs to be communicated effectively to our Hawaii State Legislature to help them “legalize it” in the next session.

I’ve heard there’s a new CBD Cannabis hemp oil that’s legal in all 50 states. See www.OilOfLife.info and find out about it for yourself. This product might be a really big breakthrough for health and wellbeing. Or zero. Please let me know.

It’s primary election time in Hawai’i this Saturday, August 9th. Share and I recommend you vote for David Ige for Governor in the primary to end Neil Abercrombie’s term as Governor, and then vote for Jeff Davis (Libertarian) in the general election in November. See www.JeffDavisGovernor.com to learn all about him.

I’ve invited Jeff Davis and Dr. Daniel Susott to try and get on my visitor list. Hopefully they’ll be approved and I’ll have a few visits while I’m still in here. Other than lawyers and one visit from Senators Russell Ruderman and Will Espero I’ve had zero visitors for way too many years.

With the subtraction of “good time” from my total 5-year prison sentence, my official “release date” is now set for November 14th of this year, 101 days away. By that time I think I’ll have been in prison for 1,589 days. :-O It’s been an unexpected and disappointing, challenging, educational, weird and spirit-strengthening experience. What a life lesson. I hope I’m a better person for going through it.

I’m very happy to hear that some of our Green Fourteen co-defendants have received short or zero prison sentences. One day we need a full accounting of how all of us did. And now Aaron Zeeman is suing the federal Probation Office to use his medical marijuana on Supervised Release. Go, Aaron! The times for Cannabis are a-changing… for a much better Cannabis future. Please help to keep the momentum going. Thank you.

All the best to you and yours!

Love, Roger

P.S. from Share: I love my husband and his long writings and am very grateful to have all of you on our side. Educational activism is the best gift you can give to get Cannabis re-classified out of the list of schedule 1 drugs. Please pass this on to as many people as you can.

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