Pubdate: Wed, 10 Oct 2012
Source: Philadelphia Daily News (PA)
Copyright: 2012 Philadelphia Newspapers Inc.
Contact: http://www.philly.com/dailynews/about/feedback/
Website: http://www.philly.com/dailynews/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/339
Author: Jason Nark

'NJ WEEDMAN' LOOKS TO PLANT A SEED ON HIS JURY

THE "NJ WEEDMAN" is back in the Garden State, and he's looking to 
plant one pot-friendly person in the jury pool who might help him 
blaze a path to permanent freedom.

On Wednesday morning, Ed "NJ Weedman" Forchion will appear in court 
in Burlington County as jury selection begins in his retrial on 
marijuana distribution. Police found a pound of herb in his trunk 
during a 2010 traffic stop.

Forchion, 48, has bone cancer and a medicinal-marijuana card from 
California. He claims that his weed was for medicinal purposes, and 
notes that his arrest occurred after New Jersey had passed a law to 
allow medical marijuana.

"This is it; this is my Armageddon day. I got my whole life screwed 
up over this case," he said Tuesday morning, shortly after landing in 
Philadelphia from Los Angeles.

Forchion, who recently opened a new medical-marijuana dispensary in 
Los Angeles, was first tried in May, but the jury was deadlocked. 
He's looking to put a few sympathizers on the jury this time around, 
and he doesn't think it should be too hard.

"Fifty percent of Americans believe marijuana laws are wrong. I only 
need one," he said. "I am openly looking for marijuana legalizers."

Forchion is also looking to push a jury-nullification defense, which 
means that the jury can choose to acquit him if it doesn't agree with 
the law. Forchion, who represents himself, claims that the Burlington 
County Prosecutor's Office and Superior Court Judge Charles Delehey 
blocked his efforts to present that defense during his first trial. A 
New Hampshire jury nullified marijuana-cultivation charges against a 
Rastafarian last month, Forchion noted.

The Burlington County Prosecutor's Office declined to comment Tuesday.

If convicted, Forchion faces up to 10 years in prison.
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