Pubdate: Sun, 30 Jun 2013
Source: Trentonian, The (NJ)
Copyright: 2013 The Trentonian
Contact:  http://www.trentonian.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1006
Author: Jeff Edelstein

MARIJUANA DEFENSE OF THE NJWEEDMAN IS WORKING

Bobby T. is a 27-year-old Philadelphia resident. He's got a good job, 
a regular guy, goes about his business. Not looking for any trouble. 
But -- cue the music -- trouble found him.

He was driving back to his home from upstate New York after a weekend 
with some friends. Upon entering New Jersey -- Mahwah, to be exact -- 
he got pulled over. The officer said he was doing 76 in a 55. Lousy 
enough luck there. And the luck got worse once the officer got a 
whiff of the car.

Pot.

"He smelled the weed," Bobby T. said. "He told me to get out of the 
car, asked me where it was, and I told him. He found my bowl and 
about 2.5 grams of pot."

Bobby T. was handcuffed and arrested.

It was going to be a slam dunk case for the township of Mahwah. Bobby 
T. was dead to rights. And then well, long story short: Bobby T. 
walked. Didn't have to pay a dime. Case dismissed.

How did he pull this off? Simple enough: Through the dare-I-say 
brilliance of Ed Forchion, known far and wide as the NJWeedman.

I wrote about this earlier in the year. Forchion has created a 
printable, fill-in-the-blanks legal brief for anyone in New Jersey 
who gets caught with marijuana. His argument is as elegant as it is airtight.

To nutshell: Marijuana is still classified as a Schedule I drug in 
New Jersey. Under state law, a drug is Schedule I if, among other 
things, it "has no accepted medical use in treatment in the United States."

Well, marijuana is recognized in 14 states as having medicinal value, 
including right here in New Jersey.

Which means the marijuana laws in New Jersey are, in a word, fugazy.

This legal form points out the particulars.

So Bobby T. caught wind of the form, and decided he had nothing to 
lose. He gave it to the judge. Another court date was scheduled. And 
 "The judge dismissed the charges," Bobby T. said. "An in-house 
dismissal. No reason given."

Reading between the lines, it's not hard to see what probably 
transpired. The judge read the brief. Realized it had merit. And 
instead of ruling on the brief, he instead decided to rid himself of 
the headache. Why? Because if he ruled in favor of Bobby T. well, 
floodgates. Possible precedents. Basically, a judge ruling in favor 
of this document would be ruling marijuana is, quite simply, no 
longer illegal. You think that might have an effect on some other cases?

So Bobby T. is a free man.

And Forchion, while happy for Bobby T., still waits for a judge to 
rule on the document.

"Seven people that I know of of filed the document," he said. "Two 
dismissals, two appeals, and waiting on three others. It's a mixed bag."

But it shouldn't be a "mixed bag." It should be slam-dunk victories 
for anyone who uses the form.

"Every single day, the state is prosecuting people under law that 
says marijuana has no medical value, while on the other hand 500 New 
Jersey patients and counting use medical marijuana legally. 
Inadvertently, Chris Christie legalized marijuana, and sooner or 
later a judge is going to rule on this. This is exactly what happened 
in Michigan. A judge let a case come to trial and then ruled 
marijuana not a Schedule I drug. Everyone knows it in New Jersey, but 
no one is saying it. Everyone knows marijuana does not fit the 
definition of a Schedule I drug. Which is why these judges who are 
faced with it, they come up with reasons to dismiss it 
administratively instead of using their (manhood) and dismiss it on argument."

Forchion likens the current situation to "The Emperor Has No 
Clothes." In short, everyone with a working brain recognizes 
marijuana can't be both medicine and not medicine, but no one wants 
to be the one to come out and say it. Except, of course, Forchion.

"I want to see a ruling so that states marijuana is a medicine and no 
longer a Schedule I drug," he said. "The criminal statute is flawed 
and vague and no one should be going to jail because of it."
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