A television reporter in Alaska quit on live TV so she could focus on her work as a marijuana legalization activist in the state. This is too perfect for real life.
This all went down after a segment from KTVA reporter Charlo Greene on marijuana legalization in Alaska, which featured a group called the Alaska Cannabis Club. Greene made no mention of any connection she had to the group during the report; however, in her live closing remarks at the end of the segment, she dropped a bombshell on viewers. “Everything you heard is why I, the actual owner of the Alaska Cannabis Club, will be dedicating all of my energy for fighting for freedom and fairness which begins with legalizing marijuana here in Alaska,” she said.
“And as for this job, well, not that I have a choice,” Greene said. “But, fuck it, I quit.”
Cut to the seething restraint of the anchor who quickly apologized for Greene’s comment. The station issued another apology for Greene’s comments on Twitter, informing viewers they had “terminated” the employee. Uhh, pretty sure she just quit, but whatever, KTVA.
Moments after quitting on live TV, Greene posted this announcement via Indiegogo, part of a fundraising drive to help her club spread the word about marijuana legalization efforts in Alaska:
I’m Charlo Greene, the president and CEO of the Alaska Cannabis Club – Alaska’s only legal medical marijuana resource. I just quit my news reporting job on live TV to announce that I am redirecting all of my energy toward helping to end a failed drug policy that has ruined the lives of far too many Americans.
In the statement, Greene said that working in news made her frustrated with the tactics used by those who oppose legalization in the state. “As a member of the media, I’ve seen the dirty campaign tricks and lies that prohibitionists have been using over the past several months to sway Alaskan voters firsthand,” she said. “Here’s the sad thing: it’s working. Polling shows the majority of Alaskans, who were in favor of the initiative at the start of the year, are now against it.”
This is a pretty damn brilliant way to get instant national and international publicity for your cause. She admitted the move was to help gain attention, in an interview with Alaska Dispatch News:
Greene said KTVA had no idea she was going to quit, or that she was connected to the Alaska Cannabis Club.
Asked why she quit in such a dramatic way, she said, “Because 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 … most patients didn’t know the state didn’t set up the framework to get patients their medicine.”
“If I offended anyone, I apologize, but I’m not sorry for the choice that I made,” she said.
Let’s see—I’m all for marijuana legalization and I’m all for un-bleeped, surprise swearing on live TV. This combination for me is sort of like the moment you discovered that Oreos go really, really well with milk. And yes, I also noticed that the last name of a marijuana legalization activist is Greene. This is more handiwork from the marijuana gods who I am convinced now are totally real.
