Brittney Grinders, the WNBA and Olympic gold medalist, who spent 10 month in a Russian prison after bringing into the country two marijuana vapes cartridges, will speak at a cannabis event next year.
Griner, who was released from detention two years ago as the result of a government-negotiated prisoner swap, will be the keynote speaker in February at the Women Grow 2025 Leadership Summit, the group said this week. The event will take place in National Harbor, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C.
Women Grow (which supports female leadership in cannabis industry) said in a release to the press on Tuesday that Griner’s appearance is in line with the mission of the event and coincides with the fact that both cannabis legalization as well as women’s rights are “under threat”.
Women Grow CEO Chanda Mcias stated in a press release that the summit was about more than women fighting to legalize cannabis and for women’s rights to medicine. It is a sisterhood that deliberately supports and trusts[s] “We must work together for the good of our country.”
Macias continued, “Now isn’t the time for division.”
From the Court to the Community @brittneygriner The power of resilience and effective leadership are synonymous.
We are excited to announce that she will be our keynote speaker at WGLS. Join us on 2/17-18 for an experience at the forefront of advocacy: https://t.co/L4JtVYcjV1 pic.twitter.com/MIsFGrjJhl
— Women Grow (@womengrow) December 3, 2024
Although it’s unclear from the press statement what Griner will discuss at the summit of February 17, the discussion is likely to at least include some mentions of the athlete’s detention in Russia due to cannabis and her subsequent freedom. The case gained international attention and was used as a rallying point for opponents of prohibition.
Griner returned to the U.S. in December 2022 following after serving 10 months of a nine-year sentence for low-level cannabis possession. She admitted that she accidentally packed cannabis vape cartridges in her backpack, which was found at an airport outside Moscow.
The Biden Administration used a variety of diplomatic approaches to secure her release, and Griner’s lawyers provided evidence that she had registered for medical marijuana in Arizona.
In the end, Griner was released by the U.S. and returned to her home in Russia through a prisoner trade, which also included the return of Vikor Bout.
Joe Biden, then President of the United States, said: “It was a long and difficult process. I would like to thank the many public servants who have worked hard to secure her freedom.” “Reuniting these Americans with their loved ones remains a priority—a priority for my administration and every person in my administration involved in this. We’ll continue our efforts to bring every American home who continues to suffer such an injustice.
Advocates claimed that the U.S. could have done more to secure the release of the athlete if they didn’t already have their own federal laws criminalizing cannabis.
Griner kept quiet about her experience until this past year when she detailed it in a book and interviews with the media. Still, she hasn’t publicly spoken about how her experience relates to the plight of other people who are currently incarcerated for cannabis—raising hopes that she may address the issue at the Women Grow event.
A representative of a speaker bureau that organizes talks for Griner has not responded to an inquiry for more information on the Women Grow event.
Many advocates, and even some legislators, called for the U.S. government to implement domestic cannabis reforms and to intensify diplomatic efforts in order to free other U.S. nationals imprisoned overseas, such as Marc Fogel, an American teacher still imprisoned by Russia because of medical marijuana.
Rep. Earl Blumenauer, co-chairman of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus and a member of the House of Representatives, stated in a press release following Griner’s freedom that he “was of course relieved” that Griner had been released and was on her way back to her family. He hoped that “this can be the beginning of another incremental move towards achieving rationalism with cannabis policy.”
He stated that “thousands of athletes self-medicate using medical cannabis and they should not be subjected to discriminatory interference by the authorities, whether it is government or the sports bureaucracy.”
Other members of congress have expressed a more critical stance towards the government’s treatment of Griner, compared with how it treats other U.S. citizen’s still imprisoned in Russia.
Fogel is one such person. He was a former employee of the U.S. embassy in Moscow. Fogel received a 14-year sentence in Russian prison because he was in possession of 17.4 grams of marijuana, which he claimed to have used to treat his backache. Fogel did not receive the “wrongfully arrested” status Griner received.
Mike Kelly (R, PA) expressed his delight at Griner’s release from Russian custody. “However I am still deeply disappointed that the Biden Administration was not able secure the release Marc Fogel.”
More recently, in August of this year, more than a dozen members of Congress again urged the Biden administration to secure the release of Fogel—with bipartisan lawmakers, including those who generally oppose cannabis reform, emphasizing that access to marijuana is “necessary to subdue his pain” and urging Biden to declare the teacher as wrongfully detained.
It followed a historic multinational prisoner trade in which Fogel was excluded from the deal. Biden told reporters at the moment that he “wasn’t giving up” in Fogel’s case.
Fogel was convicted for “drug smuggling”, after he was found in possession of half an ounce of marijuana. He is currently serving a 14 year sentence. He has not yet been classified as an incorrectly convicted person, even after three years.
Fogel’s mom expressed her disappointment in an interview with Reuters earlier this year. She said that “it seems unbelievable to think that all of those prisoners were released and Marc was not included.”
“It just took the heart right out of him when he heard,” she said. He’s shattered.
Jake Sullivan, White House’s National Security Advisor said that earlier in August, the administration intended to build on the prisoner trade, “drawing from it inspiration and continued courage for all those who are being held hostage, or wrongly detained, around the globe, including Marc Fogel. We are actively working to obtain his release from Russia.”
After MEDCAN24 asked the White House National Security Council about those comments, it became clear that Fogel “has not” been officially designated as being wrongfully detained. This is what lawmakers had pushed for.
Russia, for its part, has taken a particularly strong stance against reforming cannabis policy at the international level through the United Nations. Canada has been condemned for legalizing cannabis nationwide.
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Image element provided by Lorie Shaull/Wikimedia.