Pubdate: Wed, 12 Oct 2005
Source: Courier-Post (Cherry Hill, NJ)
Copyright: 2005 Courier-Post
Contact:  http://www.courierpostonline.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/826
Author: Jonathan Tamari, Gannett State Bureau
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)

MARIJUANA ACTIVIST TRIES FOR STATEWIDE OFFICE

TRENTON -- In the past, Edward Forchion has run for office to promote 
the legalization of marijuana.

This year, he is taking a more extreme stance in his bid for governor.

"This time it's a whole angrier thing," said Forchion, 41. He said he 
is running as a challenge to the attorney general, the Republicans 
and the Democrats.

Forchion, of Browns Mills in Pemberton Township, is angry over being 
jailed for five months in late 2002 for filming ads advocating the 
legalization of marijuana while he was on probation for possession 
and intent to distribute the drug. He had served 16 months of a 
10-year sentence before his parole.

A federal judge ultimately ruled the arrest for the videos was a 
violation of his free speech rights. Forchion hopes his candidacy -- 
and its surrounding publicity -- will stick it to state and federal officials.

And if he's elected?

"I'd pardon every single pothead that was arrested. I'd do that all 
day," said Forchion. "I'm a news junkie. I could talk about a lot of 
things, but for the sake of this campaign, I am openly advocating for 
all the potheads."

Forchion, who once tried to change his legal name to njweedman.com so 
that judges would have to call him "Mr. Weedman," has long promoted 
the legalization of marijuana and believes it should be allowed on 
free speech grounds, saying it is tied to his Rastafari religion.

"You don't have to smoke marijuana to believe that you shouldn't be 
put in a cage for smoking marijuana," Forchion said. "The weedman in 
every community is providing a service. . . . The fact of the matter 
is, we, the people, want drugs."

Although his stance would surely qualify him as soft on crime in many 
voters' eyes, Forchion insists that he is a conservative.

"To be a conservative you have to believe that the government should 
not be dictating your life," Forchion said. "All these conservatives 
who support the war on drugs are hypocrites."

Forchion has had many brushes with the law, several stemming from 
publicity stunts, including a citation while smoking at the Liberty 
Bell and being escorted from the State House after lighting up in the 
balcony of the Assembly. He said police have frequently chased him 
away while he campaigns, including an incident in which he was 
refused access to press row in the State House.

His first dose of censorship, he said, was in his Waterford high 
school yearbook, where his quote "We smoke pot, we drink brew, we're 
the class of '82," was left out.

For now, Forchion has temporarily stopped smoking marijuana for his 
truck-driving job, but he said it is only "a temporary affliction."

In what he said is likely his last run for New Jersey office, 
Forchion hopes cable television ads on Comedy Central and music 
channels will draw young voters. But he said the constant battles 
with the law have worn him down.

"This is my last hurrah. I've been doing this for like, eight or nine 
years now, I'm still a one-man gang. I've never been able to spark 
the reefer revolution," Forchion said. "I've kind of lost my fire."

He said he plans to move to the West Coast, "so I can smoke in peace."
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MAP posted-by: Elizabeth Wehrman