Roger Christie (born June 15, 1949) is an American ordained minister in the Religion of Jesus Church, which regards marijuana as a "sacramental herb.
On July 8, 2010, Christie and 13 other individuals associated with the THC Ministry were indicted by a Federal grand jury in Honolulu on marijuana possession and trafficking charges.
[2] On Sept. 27, 2013, Christie pleaded guilty to marijuana trafficking and two counts of failing to file income tax returns.
After two years of college studies and flight training school in Miami, Florida he received an associate's degree in Science and a Commercial Pilot certificate.
Christie refused his orders to serve in the Vietnam War and received an honorable discharge as a conscientious objector.
His success in this process inspired him to pursue legal options to overturn United States drug policy, a fight which has led him to numerous court battles and arrests.
He received his license to perform marriages in the State of Hawaii as a "Cannabis Sacrament" Minister and founded the THC Ministry.
He is on a life mission to achieve the goal of Equal Justice Under Law for Cannabis sacrament for the THC Ministry and for We the people.
Roger's goal includes the acceptance of home growing of safe and natural Cannabis in a similar way, using the concepts of Equal Justice Under Law, the First Amendment for religious freedom and the separation of church and state.
For a suggested donation, a person can become a "Practitioner" and receive a plaque designating their home and garden as a Sanctuary, a place of refuge for cultivating and using Cannabis in private as a sincere practice.
[9] According to Christie, in the past "We had Cannabis that people could donate for if they are 'blue card' (medical marijuana permit) holders or sincere members of the ministry.
In order to join the Ministry, prospective members in Hilo were asked to sit through a one-hour orientation session with Roger Christie.
Roger Christie said he also scheduled membership sessions with passengers on visiting cruise ships who were in Hilo for one day, and one could also join by ordering a Ministry "sanctuary kit" by mail for a $250 "donation."
The kit includes a Letter of Good Standing which can be used by Ministers in many states to get a license to marry people from their state government specifically as a "Cannabis sacrament" Minister, legal precedents, Roger's considerable activist history and track record of accomplishment in helping to end the war on marijuana and to repeal prohibition.
Once oriented and welcomed into the THC Ministry a new member has a built-in religious defense to arrest and prosecution for sincere, private, non-commercial use of Cannabis hemp for life.
[11] The discovery of Cannabis hemp being the 'fragrant cane', Kaneh Bosom in Hebrew, in the Bible recipe of Exodus 30:23 for holy anointing oil was made by researcher and author Chris Bennett.
Each member, patient or visitor was required to wash their hands with hemp soap upon entering and to have good manners and respect while visiting the offices in the Moses Building in Hilo.
[12] Roger Christie provided ministry services and Cannabis sacraments to members and medical patients, alike.
Roger has both the original injunction and the government's 37 pages of legal "chess moves" to use to refile the case at an appropriate time.
[13] On March 20, 2010, Federal agents raided the downtown Hilo sanctuary of Christie's Hawaii Cannabis Ministry, assisted by local police.
Christie was denied contact with reporters from National Geographic, Newsweek, Honolulu Civil Beat, and others Senator Ruderman stated, "I have known Roger for over 25 years.
"[25] On April 10, 2013, the Hawaii Senate Judiciary and Labor Committee heard concurrent resolutions SCR75[22] and SR42,[23] "urging the federal government to release Roger Christie pending trial."
[26] [27] [28] The committee also heard testimony from Tracy Ryan, the Vice Chair of the Hawaii Libertarian Party, who said that Roger Christie was the victim of a "frightening", "railroading system" in which federal prosecutors have provided "a lot of good lawyerly reasons... to... say that the constitution of the United States doesn't apply to the federal system.
Roger Christie also agreed under duress to forfeit a condominium apartment on Kauila Street in Hilo which was a gift from his late Mother.
On April 28, 2014, U.S. District Judge Leslie Kobayashi sentenced Roger Christie to a term of five years in federal prison, with credit for the almost four years he had been incarcerated, permitting him to be released after serving 50 months in the Federal Detention Center Honolulu with no bail and no trial, no outside, no sunshine and no media contact allowed.
Roger and Share's intention to have "the last marijuana trial" (See: www.the-last-marijuana-trial.com) was denied, and most of their evidence and witnesses were never seen or heard by the Judge or a jury.
On September 4, 2014, Roger Christie was transferred to the Mahoney Hale halfway house in Honolulu before being allowed to return to Puna on the Big Island on supervised release on November 14.
On October 11, 2016 Share Christie self-surrendered to a federal prison camp in Phoenix, Arizona to serve a 27-month sentence with an added three year probation.
She was transferred back to the Federal Detention Center Honolulu in April 2017 where she was held until released to the Orion Halfway House in Los Angeles on August 7, 2018.
Roger is planning to restart the THC Ministry in June 2020 mostly online, but without the distribution of Cannabis sacrament until he "wins a federal injunction, or better".