Amish man, Sam Girod, has been making and selling herbal remedies for over 20 years in Kentucky. However, for the last three years he has been in federal prison in Pennsylvania. Here’s why.
Sam promoted and sold a product called Chickweed Healing Salve, for instance, saying it could be used in treating skin disorders, sore throats, psoriasis, skin cancer, rashes and poison ivy, according to a court document.
The FDA charged that the salve Girod distributed didn’t have adequate directions for use. One element of the charge was that he misbranded the products with the intent to defraud or mislead people. Never mind that Sam had been making and selling the salve for many years, and had many satisfied customers.
A federal court in Missouri barred Girod in 2013 from distributing the products until he met certain conditions, including letting the federal Food and Drug Administration inspect his production facility, according to a court document.
The federal prosecutor, Kate Smith, asked for a fine of $25,000 as well as jail time, specifically citing Sam’s “Sovereign Citizen” claims and his refusal to admit guilt.
Sam has never harmed anyone. There are no victims of the 3 herbals salves he made and sold for over 20 years. He made the mistake of mislabeling one of the salves.
In July of 2017, Sam Girod was sentenced to six years in federal prison for making herbal salve without the king’s permission, plus $1300 in what are essentially court costs, plus over $14,000 in restitution to his victims. He will also have three years of supervised release, is barred from owning firearms, and is barred from making any product regulated by the FDA. Sam will not be forced to undergo court ordered drug testing. You could not make this story up.
Sam has lived his entire life in the Amish tradition: no electricity. That means no lights, no running water, no electronic sounds, no cell phones, no internet, no planes, no driving cars. He's a farmer and lived on a farm all his life. He is being held in a federal prison in Pennsylvania, with a scheduled release date in April 2022. But . . .
APR 18, 2020 — Amish farmer Sam Girod is coming home to his family! He's being released because of the coronavirus so something good came from this.
He's been in federal prison since July 2017 after the FDA prosecuted him for mislabeling a harmless chickweed salve that his family made and sold for over 20 years.
According to his neighbors, Sam is a charming, boisterous, outspoken, freedom-loving American. His only crime is refusing to roll over when the FDA unlawfully threatened and lied to him.
If you want to send him a card, I know he and his family would appreciate that! The address is 409 Satterfield Lane, Owingsville, KY 40360.
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