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

cannabis rights Cannabis rights or marijuana rights (sometimes more specifically cannabis consumer rights or stoner rights) are individual civil and human rights that vary by jurisdiction. The rights of people who consume cannabis include the right to be free f ...

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 right to freedom of expression has been recog ...

activist,

perennial candidate A perennial candidate is a political candidate who frequently runs for elected office and rarely, if ever, wins. Perennial candidates' existence lies in the fact that in some countries, there are no laws that limit a number of times a person can ...

, actor, writer, and restaurateur. He is the founder of the Legalize Marijuana Party. 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 state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, he is a registered medical cannabis 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 Remand, also known as pre-trial detention, preventive detention, or provisional detention, is the process of detaining a person until their trial after they have been arrested and charged with an offence. A person who is on remand is held i ...

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 Cannabis in New Jersey is legal for both medical use and recreational use. An amendment to the state constitution legalizing cannabis became effective on January 1, 2021, and enabling legislation and related bills were signed into law by govern ...

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, 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,

. 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 (1983–1984). He was a member of the

New Jersey National Guard The New Jersey Army National Guard consists of more than 6,000 Citizen-Soldiers. The New Jersey Army National Guard is currently engaged in multiple worldwide and homeland missions. Units have deployed to Iraq, Guantanamo Bay, Afghanistan, Germ ...

(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 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 ...

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 medical cannabis 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 Pemberton Township 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 because Forchion is a person of color. 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 NJWeedman. He has attempted to have his name legally changed to NJWeedman.com (his

domain name A domain name is a string that identifies a realm of administrative autonomy, authority or control within the Internet. Domain names are often used to identify services provided through the Internet, such as websites, email services and more. As ...

), 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 acts." Etymology Comity derives from the La ...

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 Mount Holly is a township that is the county seat of Burlington County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is an eastern suburb of Philadelphia, the nation's sixth largest city as of 2020, As of the 2020 U.S. census, the township's population w ...

, 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 Evesham Township is a township in Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a suburb of Philadelphia. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the township's population was 46,826, an increase of 1,288 from the 2010 census count of 45,538, ...

, 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 Hopewell is a borough in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. This historical settlement is located within the heart of the Raritan Valley region. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 1,918, a decreas ...

. 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 In some jurisdictions, a petition for review is a formal request for an appellate tribunal to review the decision of a lower court or administrative body. If a jurisdiction utilizes petitions for review, then parties seeking appellate review of th ...

has asked the

New Jersey Supreme Court The Supreme Court of New Jersey is the highest court in the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, the Supreme Court of New Jersey is the final judicial authority on all cases in the state court system, including cases challenging th ...

for a discretionary review 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 In law, ''certiorari'' is a court process to seek judicial review of a decision of a lower court or government agency. ''Certiorari'' comes from the name of an English prerogative writ, issued by a superior court to direct that the record of ...

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 in 1998. In 2004, Forchion ran as a U.S. Marijuana Party 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 chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

for NJ Congressional District 1 in 1998, and 2000 *

New Jersey State Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts for ...

, Legislative District 8 in 1999 and 2011 * Camden County Freeholder in 1999 * Burlington County 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 r ...

in 2005, 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 coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

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

in 2006 *

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 of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

, and

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

, 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 in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

. 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 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 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 ''The Trentonian'' is a daily newspaper serving Trenton, New Jersey, USA, and the surrounding Mercer County community. The paper in 2020 has a daily circulation of under 8,000 and a Sunday circulation under 7,000. As of August 2020, it was ranke ...

''. Forchion has appeared in various television programs and documentaries including a filming version of ''

The Emperor Wears No Clothes ''The Emperor Wears No Clothes'' is a non-fiction book written by Jack Herer. Starting in 1973, the story begins when Herer takes the advice of his friend, "Captain" Ed Adair, and begins compiling tidbits of information about the ''Cannabis'' pl ...

'' (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 Febr ...

(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 Supreme may refer to: Entertainment * Supreme (character), a comic book superhero * ''Supreme'' (film), a 2016 Telugu film * Supreme (producer), hip-hop record producer * "Supreme" (song), a 2000 song by Robbie Williams * The Supremes, Motown-e ...

: Tony Rock vs.

Harland Williams Harland Michael Williams (born November 14, 1962) is a Canadian actor, comedian and writer. After several years of stand-up in Toronto and Los Angeles he made his film debut in ''Dumb and Dumber'' (1994) before playing starring roles in the short ...

'' (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