THC Ministry’s Roger Christie to remain in jail till September

HILO—On Thursday, July 11, Roger Christie was escorted by DEA Agents out of his Wainaku home into police custody. Christie is the head of the THC Ministry located in downtown Hilo and is being charged along with 13 other members of his religious organization with conspiracy to possess, manufacture, and distribute marijuana.

According to the feds, what Christie promoted as a church was a major growing and distributing operation. But the cannabis minister claims that he has a protected right to grow and distribute marijuana.

“We’re standing for religious freedom,” Christie said during an interview with Big Island Video News after an initial raid in March. His statements in favor of “using cannabis in private, at home or church” and calling it “a blessed, beautiful thing” indicated his intent to continue despite the raid. According to Christie’s philosophy, marijuana alters the mind to be more spiritually aware and therefore he is within his legal rights as a minister to provide marijuana to those who want it. 

Federal agents prosecuting the case say that religious freedom does not apply to illegal substances. “There is a state medical marijuana law. There is no law that protects his allegations of using marijuana religiously,” said Florence Nakakuni, U.S. Attorney for Hawaii.

The other people arrested along with Christie include Sherryanne L. St. Cyr, 58, Susanne Lenore Friend, 46, Timothy M Mann, 58, Richard Bruce Turpen, 59, Wesley Mark Sudbury, 32, Donald James Gibson, 40, Roland Gregory Ignacio, 49, John Debaptist Bouey III, 51, Michael B. Shapiro, 61, Aaron George Zeeman, 42, Victoria C. Fiore, 28, and Jessica R. Walsh, also known as Jessica Hackman, 32. Of the 14 arrested, all have been released on their own recognizance except for Christie who remains in custody and has been denied bail.

It was Magistrate Judge Kevin Chang who first denied Christie bail. On Friday, July 16, District Judge Alan Kay heard an appeal. U.S. Attorney Michael Kawahara submitted a 34-page brief arguing that he was a danger to the community. His attorney, deputy federal public defender, Matthew Winter, offered an assurance that his client would not resume the activities that landed him in jail and therefore presented no threat to the public’s health and safety. But Kay ruled in favor of the prosecutor. Last week, an appeal was denied. Christie will remain in jail until September 8; this is when all 14 defendants are scheduled to appear in court.

In conjunction with the arrests, the government seized Christie’s apartment along with over $21,000 in cash. During the massive arrest, agents also seized about 3,000 plants with an estimated street value of $5 million.