The Legalize Marijuana Party is a political third party in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

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 ...

established in 1998 by

Edward Forchion Robert Edward "Ed" Forchion Jr. (born July 23, 1964), also known as NJWeedman, is an American Rastafari cannabis rights and free speech activist, perennial candidate, actor, writer, and restaurateur. He is the founder of the Legalize Marijuana ...

to protest

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: ''Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternatively ...

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

Gubernatorial candidates

Forchion was nominated by petition to run for Governor of New Jersey in 2005. He received 9,137 votes. While Forchion was campaigning for Governor, his home 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 (� ...

was vandalized, August 25, 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 ...

Results in gubernatorial elections

New Jersey election results

Results in county elections

Forchion ran for Camden County Freeholder in 1999, and Burlington County Freeholder in 2000. In a bid for Burlington County Freeholder in 2004, Forchion got 2,932 votes.

Results in New Jersey state elections

Results in federal elections

History

In 2014, Forchion, otherwise known as NJ Weedman, filed a lawsuit in an attempt to get onto the ballot in

New Jersey's 3rd congressional district New Jersey's 3rd congressional district is represented by Democrat Andy Kim of Moorestown who has served in Congress since 2019. It is one of seven districts that voted for Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election while being held by a ...

. A judge dismissed the lawsuit.

References

1998 establishments in New Jersey 1998 in cannabis Cannabis political parties of the United States Political parties established in 1998 Political parties in New Jersey {{US-party-stub