Pubdate: Thu, 28 Apr 2016
Source: Trentonian, The (NJ)
Copyright: 2016 The Trentonian
Contact:  http://www.trentonian.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1006
Author: Scott Ketterer

NJ WEEDMAN'S RESTAURANT RAIDED ON WEDNESDAY

TRENTON - The authorities raided NJWeedman's Joint on East State 
Street Wednesday afternoon.

According to police sources the narcotics task force raided the 
restaurant around 4 p.m. A number of police were seen going in and 
out of the building, and several people were detained by police.

Social media posts have popped up with the hashtag #FreeNJWeedman and 
friends of Ed Forchion, better known as NJ Weedman, were saying that 
Forchion, proprietor of the shop, was among those arrested. In 
addition to running the restaurant and temple, Forchion is a 
well-known marijuana legalization activist.

Forchion's daughter confirmed for The Trentonian that he was one of 
the people arrested and was in custody Wednesday evening. She said 
that charges were likely going to be related to intent to distribute 
marijuana, but was unsure of what exact charges her father was facing.

On the sidewalk in front of city hall, a crowd gathered to watch as 
police conducted their investigation. It's unclear how many people 
were taken into custody, or what police found as a result of their 
investigation. Members of the crowd yelled with displeasure at the 
police. Some yelled that officers used cocaine, while others yelled 
"fk the police, he's legal." While The Trentonian was at the scene at 
least three people were loaded into a police van and driven away from 
the scene. Police K9 units were also observed being taken into the 
temple/restaurant.

This is not the first instance where area authorities have been at 
NJWeedman's Joint. On March 5 police shut down the joint around 2:10 
a.m, in violation of city code. During that incident more than a 
dozen Trenton police officers arrived at Liberty Bell Temple III 
asking the congregants inside the East State Street sanctuary to pack 
up and vacate the premises. Forchion said of the March 5 incident 
violated his First Amendment rights.

Forchion is also a freelance columnist for The Trentonian.
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