Watch this video I made below:
In the end, the government charged Girod with conspiracy to impede an officer, obstruction of a proceeding before an agency, failing to register with the FDA, eights counts of causing misbranded drugs to be introduced into interstate commerce, tampering with a witness and failure to appear. The jury found Girod guilty on all 13 counts, but not only did they find him guilty, "they found Sam guilty of each separate part of each count, even when only one part would be needed to make Sam guilty of that count against him," reports Health Impact News. It's almost like it was personal.
From Health Impact:
Sam described the FDA coming to his home in Indiana and objecting to the skin cancer claim so he removed that from the label. Sam asked if they had any other concerns and was told they would like to think about it for a week. They never responded. After a few weeks, Sam contacted them and they didn't reply.We cannot believe the FDA has gone to these lengths to silence someone because they are making a natural health product. Do not believe for one moment they are trying to save or protect anyone from harm- they are silencing and potentially putting an Amish man in PRISON for healing people without the help of pharmaceuticals. That is the extent of it. Quite frankly is shameful.
Sam refuted the claim that the Amish were physically intimidating. He explained that they would never intimidate or threaten anyone. Anybody with even a passing familiarity with the Amish would know that to be the truth. He also stressed that nobody cursed at the FDA agents, as that is something they do not do.
Sam stated that he never harmed anybody and never acted to deceive anybody.
Sam explained that he never threatened or intimidated Mary Miller to prevent her from providing evidence to a grand jury. They had discussed the matter because she had no prior dealings with the FDA and in fact that was the last thing this Amish woman wanted, and Sam felt bad that his actions had inadvertently drawn the FDA's attention to Mary. Sam followed up with a letter to several customers and business associates in a letter addressed to "Friends". He stated in the letter that everyone was free to do whatever they wanted to do. From the federal government's perspective it was inappropriate for Sam to contact them, but he was reaching out to confused and very worried friends with whom he had a close personal business relationship. He was trying to explain what was happening to the best of his understanding. A subpoena from the federal government is a terrifying thing to an Amish person. It was obvious from the testimony of all of the FDA's subpoenaed witnesses that they did feel threatened and intimidated... by the FDA. They were clearly on Sam's side, even though they were being compelled to testify against him.
When the problems first surfaced with the FDA, some time around 2003, Sam hired a lawyer and his lawyer hired an FDA approved lab to test Sam's products. The FDA also tested Sam's products in their own lab using liquid chromatography and mass spectroscopy. Both labs reached the same conclusions. The ingredients matched the label's ingredients list, the samples did not contain any drugs as commonly defined or any alkaloids or poisons, and the samples from different containers of the same product were consistent. In 2003 and 2004, the FDA requested more label changes and Sam made the changes, removing all health claims and only listing the ingredients on the label.
Please consider writing the judge to let him know a) what you think of this travesty and b) that Sam Girod deserves grace and time served:
The Honorable Danny C. Reeves
United States District Judge
US District Court
101 Barr Street
Lexington, KY 40507
You can also sign the Change.org petition for Sam Girod. [Here's a link to copy and share:bit.ly/freeamishsam]
Reader Comments
(Never mind the absurdity of selling herbs being punishable in the first place.)
But a salve made by a reclusive cult and labeled as a cure for cancer is also sounds kinda dodgy.
Doesn't seem dodgey to me.
I would also like to remind readers of Sott that Organic Valley, which claims to support small farmers and offer 'consumers' 'healthy' 'food' 'choices' that are 'organic' and 'pure' is a total crock of corporate b.s. success/lies.
And Organic Valley is still being labeled by its proponents as the genuine item.
Organic Valley is a con. It is entirely corporate in structure and in activity and function. It is a sell out. It may have started out long ago as an 'honest john', 'ma and pa' sort of adventure, but it changed its stripes long ago. The same thing applies to the famous Seed Savers Exchange of Decorah, Ia.
Your food, your farmland, your wilderness, your family, your community, your air, water, your freedom, all the natural and loving and vital resources of the earth and life itself continue to be sold out, displaced and destroyed by massive corporate effort, swindle and fraud. Pure evil.
A further note:
I, and especially my wife, deal with the Amish that are local around here.
There are many many many Amish who are no longer able to make a living farming. And the Amish have always been, first and foremost, a community (albeit constantly struggling for survival because they are essentially technophobes) of small farms.
We are living in a time of great swindle.
I am so sad and so very FUCKING angry.
signed,
n ed, small farmer
I am not in love with the Amish, some are quirky, quite obviously, but if I had to choose between an Amish person and a regular person, sight unseen and support either one or the other, I would most definitely choose the Amish person.
As a general rule, they are far more honest.
And honesty is a good thing.
ned,
out