Pubdate: Thu, 03 Nov 2005
Source: Trentonian, The (NJ)
Copyright: 2005 The Trentonian
Contact:  http://www.trentonian.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1006
Author: Victoria St. Martin

WEEDMAN PLANS TO GIVE POLS THE 'FINGER'

TRENTON -- If the phrase "Big Brother is watching," rings true then a 
pro-marijuana activist running for New Jersey governor can relate to it.

The website of Ed "Weedman" Forchion may be on a list of favorites 
for state authorities.

Not long after Forchion posted a flyer on his site advertising a 
rally at the State Capital Building, which is planned for this 
afternoon, state police requested that he obtain a permit.

In an e-mail sent to the activist, Lt. Brian Crain of the State 
Police State House Complex Security Unit said troopers found out 
about Forchion's plan for today's march by monitoring his 
pro-marijuana website.

Crain said all groups of more than 10 "intending to 
gather/demonstrate at the State House must apply for a permit to 
gather." Forchion sent picture of his exposed backside in response to 
the Jersey trooper's warning.

"I'm not getting a permit," said Forchion. "All those permit laws 
should be unconstitutional ... No one asks Corzine or Forrester to 
get a permit and we supposedly live in a free country."

Forchion, who is running for governor as a candidate of the "Legalize 
Marijuana Party," plans to gather with his supporters today around 
noon at the Trenton Train Station and march to the State Capitol 
Building at 2 p.m. Once there, he plans to deliver a speech and close 
at 4:20 p.m. with a presentation in which he turns around and "give 
all politicians the finger."

The 41-year-old Pemberton activist called his gathering a peace rally 
said giving politicians the middle finger is his expression of 
displeasure. "I want to talk about ending the war on drugs," Forchion 
said. "What I'm doing is perfectly legal. I don't have to have a 
permit to walk down the street with a sign and the finger is not an 
obscene gesture. It's an F- you to the system."

Forchion said state authorities and officials have been making 
regular visits to his website, which he monitors through a return hit 
counter on his personal computer. State police, he said, have been 
watching him for years and are gearing up to give him a hassle today 
at his planned rally.

"We had seen a flyer he had distributed in the area," Crain said 
yesterday, explaining how troopers discovered the whereabouts of the 
marijuana activist's rally. "It was also posted on his website."

Crain said, according to regulations set by the joint management 
commission that oversees the complex, a group planning to gather for 
a vigil or other ceremony must apply for a permit 72 hours prior to 
the gathering. The group can obtain the permit, free of charge, 
through the state police.

As of yesterday Forchion did not request a permit from the state 
police. When Crain was questioned about whether or not the activist 
would be arrested, without the proper paperwork,he had no comment.

Forchion is running for governor as candidate with the "Legalize 
Marijuana Party." He attributes the majority of Trenton's violence to 
the war on drugs.

"I'm trying to spark a reefer revolution," he said. "The drug laws 
aren't working. It's a result of do-gooderism and it's causing more 
harm than good.

You have a right to free speech-- I remember that from the third grade."
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman