Robert Edward "Ed" Forchion Jr. (born July 23, 1964), also known as NJWeedman, is an American

Rastafari Rastafari, sometimes called Rastafarianism, is a religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement by scholars of religion. There is no central authority in control of ...

cannabis rights Cannabis rights or marijuana rights (sometimes more specifically cannabis consumer rights or stoner rights) are individual Civil rights, civil and human rights that vary by jurisdiction. The rights of people who consume Cannabis (drug), cannabis ...

and

free speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The rights, right to freedom of expression has been ...

activist, perennial candidate, actor, writer, and

restaurateur A restaurateur is a person who opens and runs restaurants professionally. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who owns a restaurant, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspec ...

. He is the founder of the

Legalize Marijuana Party The Legalize Marijuana Party is a political third party in the U.S. state of New Jersey established in 1998 by Edward Forchion to protest cannabis prohibition. Gubernatorial candidates Forchion was nominated by petition to run for Governor of N ...

. A resident of

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

and

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, he is a registered

medical cannabis Medical cannabis, or medical marijuana (MMJ), is cannabis and cannabinoids that are prescribed by physicians for their patients. The use of cannabis as medicine has not been rigorously tested due to production and governmental restrictions ...

user. He has been arrested and convicted for some of his activities and has mounted various legal defenses and challenges to laws regarding cannabis. After his last arrest the state of New Jersey filed a motion on March 7, 2017, for pretrial detention to incarcerate Forchion until trial. Forchion held a

hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...

for nearly two weeks while being held without bail, calling himself a political prisoner. The trial began October 26, 2017. On November 8, the jury found him not guilty of one charge of second-degree

witness tampering Witness tampering is the act of attempting to improperly influence, alter or prevent the testimony of witnesses within criminal or civil proceedings. Witness tampering and reprisals against witnesses in organized crime cases have been a difficul ...

, and was hung on another charge in the third degree. In January 2018, he was again denied bail, pending a re-trial. His appeal to being denied bail and being released was denied in February 2018. In May 2018, in the second trial, he was acquitted by a jury on charges of witness tampering. He had spent 447 days in jail. Following the legalization of Cannabis in New Jersey in 2021, Forchion began openly selling marijuana from an unlicensed store across from the city hall in Trenton. He has said he will not close his store. He later began weed-friendly ventures in Florida.

Personal life

Forchion was born in

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a city in and the county seat of Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Camden is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan area and is located directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the 2020 ...

, in 1964 and grew up in Sicklerville.Murphy, Bridget
"ONE ASSEMBLY CANDIDATE BRINGS NEW MEANING TO GREEN PARTY"
''

The Press of Atlantic City ''The Press of Atlantic City'' is the fourth-largest daily newspaper in New Jersey. Originally based in Pleasantville, it is the primary newspaper for southeastern New Jersey and the Jersey Shore. The newspaper designated market runs from Ware ...

'', October 30, 1999. Accessed June 16, 2013. "Forchion, who grew up in the Sicklerville area and has four children, is currently working at a manufacturing plant in Hammonton." He is a resident of Browns Mills in

Pemberton Township Pemberton Township is a township in Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the township's population was 26,903, a drop of 1,009 from the 2010 census count of 27,912, which reflected a decline of 779 (� ...

. Forchion graduated from

Edgewood Regional High School Edgewood Regional High School is the original name of Winslow Township High School that opened in 1958. Though the mailing address of the school was Atco, the site actually resided in the Tansboro section of Winslow Township, in Camden County ...

in 1982 and attended

Claflin College Claflin University is a private historically black university in Orangeburg, South Carolina. Founded in 1869 after the American Civil War by northern missionaries for the education of freedmen and their children, it offers bachelor's and master ...

(1983–1984). He was a member of the New Jersey National Guard (1982–1984) and

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

(1986). He was a member of the U.S Army 1987-1990 as Edward Forchion. Forchion also owned and operated a trucking business - Forchion Trucking. Forchion is a Rastafarian and has been using cannabis since he was a teen, in 2001 he was diagnosed with tumors in his knees and shoulders, which later become cancerous. He is a registered

user in California. Forchion is a father of five children and is twice divorced. On August 25, 2005, while he was campaigning for Governor of New Jersey, Forchion’s home in

was vandalized during the night by someone who spray-painted a 6-foot cross together with the words “Get Jesus.” Burlington County police investigated the incident, calling it a

hate crime A hate crime (also known as a bias-motivated crime or bias crime) is a prejudice-motivated crime which occurs when a perpetrator targets a victim because of their membership (or perceived membership) of a certain social group or racial demograph ...

because Forchion is a

person of color The term "person of color" ( : people of color or persons of color; abbreviated POC) is primarily used to describe any person who is not considered "white". In its current meaning, the term originated in, and is primarily associated with, the U ...

. But Forchion told reporters that he thought he had been targeted because of his Rastafari religious beliefs, not because he is

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

NJ Weedman

Forchion uses the

moniker A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

NJWeedman. He has attempted to have his name legally changed to NJWeedman.com (his domain name), but was denied, first by the courts in New Jersey in 2004 and in another case in California in 2011, which cited, among other things,

comity In law, comity is "a practice among different political entities (as countries, states, or courts of different jurisdictions)" involving the "mutual recognition of legislative, executive, and judicial The judiciary (also known as the judicial s ...

with New Jersey's ruling. On October 17 of 2022, a Mercer County, NJ judge approved his petition to change his name. NJWeedman.com expects his close friends and family will still call him “Ed,” but he intends to otherwise make full use of his new name.

Arrests, trials, and legal motions

Forchion has been arrested several times and has mounted many legal challenges to his arrest and trials. Forchion was arrested for "intent to distribute" on November 24, 1997, in

Bellmawr, New Jersey Bellmawr is a borough in Camden County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the borough's population was 11,583, In 2007 Forchion and his second wife Janice divorced and he moved to Los Angeles and successfully opened several marijuana dispensaries (Liberty Bell Temple I, Liberty Bell Temple II and the United States Collective - USC. In 2010 Forchion was arrested in Mount Holly, New Jersey, after a traffic stop. He was charged with possession with intent to distribute and convicted of possession and sentenced to two years probation and a $2,500 fine. However, the jury couldn't reach a verdict on intent to distribute. A separate trial was convened. and Forchion urged the jury to employ

jury nullification Jury nullification (US/UK), jury equity (UK), or a perverse verdict (UK) occurs when the jury in a criminal trial gives a not guilty verdict despite a defendant having clearly broken the law. The jury's reasons may include the belief that the ...

to overturn an unjust law. The defense which proved effective and resulted in Forchion receiving a 12-0 verdict of acquittal. Despite this victory, his conviction for possession led Forchion to later be convicted for violating the terms of probation, a sentence for which the judge jailed him for nine months, and for which he lost his appeal. He was allowed out of custody intermittently to go to California for treatment of bone tumours (20 20-day periods of incarceration separated by 10-day periods of release). Forchion had a medical marijuana card from California and had argued that he was "convicted and sentenced to 270 days in jail only for bringing his legally prescribed medicine into the State of New Jersey." In 2012, federal agents in California raided his cannabis farm, confiscating the plants. The case was eventually dismissed. Forchion was arrested April 15, 2013, in Evesham Township, New Jersey, for possession. Forchion soon after published online his legal brief to the court (which contends that New Jersey laws on marijuana are contradictory) for use by others to fill-in and use in their own defense. Forchion was arrested on various charges in Trenton in 2016. On March 3, 2017, Forchion was arrested and charged with second-degree

and third-degree witness tampering. He was ordered to be held without bail; his appeal for release was denied. Forchion was placed in pre-trial detention at the Mercer County Correction Center in Hopewell, New Jersey. Forchion began a

on June 12 and ending it June 27. In July 2017, Forchion made a motion to review his detention saying that his attorney had misrepresented him and that material evidence would clarify that his intentions would not qualify as witness tampering.

Petitions for review and petitions for certiorari

Forchion, in a petition for review has asked the New Jersey Supreme Court for a

discretionary review Discretionary review is the authority appellate courts have to decide which appeals they will consider from among the cases submitted to them. This offers the judiciary a filter on what types of cases are appealed, because judges have to consider i ...

stemming from his conviction. He asked; "Should the holding in State v. Tate, 102 N.J. 64 (1986), barring the necessity defense for possession of marijuana for medical purposes, be modified or overruled?", claiming that the ruling was outdated. On March 8, 2016, Forchion and his lawyers filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

(US Supreme Court Docket – 15–8533) with ten questions for review regarding race and religion as it relates to cannabis. The court declined.

Political candidacy

Forchion established the

New Jersey Legalize Marijuana Party The Legalize Marijuana Party is a political third party in the U.S. state of New Jersey established in 1998 by Edward Forchion to protest cannabis prohibition. Gubernatorial candidates Forchion was nominated by petition to run for Governor of N ...

in 1998. In 2004, Forchion ran as a

U.S. Marijuana Party The United States Marijuana Party (officially the U.S. Marijuana Party) is a Cannabis political parties, cannabis political party in the United States founded in 2002 by Loretta Nall specifically to end the war on drugs and to legalize Cannabis ( ...

candidate, in 2018 he ran as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

candidate under the banner “Repeal Bail Reform,” in 2020 he ran as an independent candidate with no slogan, and in 2021 Forchion ran under the slogan “HomeGrow 4All,” in addition to running as a Legalize Marijuana Party candidate in the following elections: *

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

for NJ Congressional District 1 in 1998, and 2000 * New Jersey State Assembly, Legislative District 8 in 1999 and 2011 * Camden County Freeholder in 1999 *

Burlington County Burlington County is a county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The county is the largest by area in New Jersey. Its county seat is Mount Holly.

Freeholder in 2000, and 2004 *

for NJ Congressional District 3 in 2004, and 2012 An attempt to get on the ballot in 2014 was unsuccessful *

Governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official res ...

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

, and

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

for

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

for NJ Congressional District 12 in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, and

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

* New Jersey State Assembly, Legislative District 15 in 2018

Liberty Bell Temple and restaurants

Forchion has opened two temples, named Liberty Bell Temple II and Liberty Bell Temple III, which have been connected to adjacent restaurant lounges. The names were inspired by the

Liberty Bell The Liberty Bell, previously called the State House Bell or Old State House Bell, is an iconic symbol of American independence, located in Philadelphia. Originally placed in the steeple of the Pennsylvania State House (now renamed Independence ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. In 1993, when the U.S. Congress passed the (42 U.S.C. § 2000bb(a)) Religious Freedom and Restoration Act which allows for the religious use of marijuana on federal grounds during the course of a religious ceremony, Forchion initiated "smoke outs" or "smoke downs" at the national monument. The restaurant NJWeedman's Joint in

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784. and in 2016 was raided by local police and Forchion was arrested. The matter is subject of further litigation. In February 2018, a judge dismissed 13 of 22 tickets for various violations, saying they were dispensed incorrectly. The restaurant reopened in May 2017 and was renamed "Weedbukx".

Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain. As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 c ...

informed Forchion and his partner that the logo for the new cafe was similar to theirs. The restaurant re-opened after Forchion's release in 2018, and is known as the Joint. Since the legalization of cannabis in 2021, the restaurant has openly operated as a

black market A black market, underground economy, or shadow economy is a clandestine market or series of transactions that has some aspect of illegality or is characterized by noncompliance with an institutional set of rules. If the rule defines the se ...

cannabis dispensary.

Get On The Cannabus

In September of 2020, during one of his political campaigns for New Jersey public office and the legalization of marijuana on the ballot, Forchion started his potcast, Get On The Cannabus, o
Spotify
Apple Podcasts and YouTube. The podcast interviews marijuana entrepreneurs and raffles off free cannabis products in what is known as the Reefer Raffle. When the podcast began, Forchion sold weed illegally on camera in protest of the unjust cannabis laws in New Jersey and America, in what he called "Selling Weed Like He's White." After multiple episodes, marijuana was legalized in New Jersey and NJ Weedman's Joint became the location of the first unofficial New Jersey Recreational Dispensary on January 1, 2021. The podcast is produced by Jordan Fried o
LNH Studios
and William "Gmunk" Saunders o
Hamilton Radio
and is guest hosted by the various budtenders at NJ Weedman's Joint.

Writing, film, television, and radio

Forchion wrote ''Public Enemy #420'', published in 2010, and ''Politics of Pot, Jersey Style: The persecution prosecution of NJweedman'' in 2014. He has written for '' The Trentonian''. Forchion has appeared in various television programs and documentaries including a filming version of '' The Emperor Wears No Clothes'' (2009), ''How Weed Won the West'' by

Kevin Booth Kevin Booth (born October 2, 1961) is an American film director, producer, lecturer and musician. He was known for his documentary film series '' American Drug War''. Booth worked with comedian Bill Hicks, until the time of his death on February ...

(2010), ''

1000 Ways to Die ''1000 Ways to Die'' is an American anthology television series that aired on Spike from May 14, 2008 to July 15, 2012, and also aired on Comedy Central during its run. The program recreates unusual supposed deaths, true events, and debunked ...

'': '' Fatal Distractions'' (2010), '' Supreme Court of Comedy:

Tony Rock Anthony Rock (born June 30, 1974) is an American actor and stand-up comedian. He is the younger brother of comedian Chris Rock. He is best known for playing Uncle Ryan on ''Everybody Hates Chris'' (2008–2009), and television producer Dirk Blac ...

vs. Harland Williams'' (2010) and '' Million Mask Movement'' by Vinu Joseph (2016). He has spoken for various podcasts and radio programs.

References

External links

Ballotpedia: Robert Edward Forchion Jr
*
Liberty BellNJWeedman's JointMy Legal LynchingConsolidated CAFN: 3:16cv01339-PGS-LGH — EDWARD FORCHION and NJWEEDMAN’S JOINT LLC v. CITY OF TRENTON
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Forchion, Ed 1964 births Living people 21st-century American male actors Activists from New Jersey American cannabis activists American civil rights activists American political activists American political party founders American Rastafarians Candidates in the 2021 United States elections Cannabis in New Jersey Cannabis political party politicians Free speech activists Military personnel from New Jersey New Jersey Independents New Jersey politicians People convicted of cannabis offenses People from Camden, New Jersey People from Hollywood, Los Angeles People from Pemberton Township, New Jersey People from Winslow Township, New Jersey Writers from New Jersey