Pubdate: Fri, 31 Jan 2014
Source: Trentonian, The (NJ)
Copyright: 2014 The Trentonian
Contact:  http://www.trentonian.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1006
Author: Jeff Edelstein

MARIJUANA ACTIVIST ED FORCHION, THE WEEDMAN, RELEASED FROM JAIL AFTER 
HIS STORY GOES VIRAL

Every so often, a column I write goes nationwide. That wasn't the 
case this past Monday when I wrote about the absurd situation Ed 
Forchion (the NJWEEDMAN, or just plain Weedman, if you like) found himself in.

Nope. It didn't go national. went worldwide.

Very (very) long story short: Forchion, who has a rare form of bone 
cancer, was serving a nine month sentence related to a marijuana 
charge. And every 20 days, the judge would let him out of jail so he 
could ... smoke marijuana.

I wasn't the first person to report on this story, but for whatever 
reason, national press picked it up. Fox News covered it. The Daily 
Mail in London wrote a huge piece about it. It was everywhere.

And now, some 72 hours later?

Forchion is a free man.

He was released from jail Tuesday for his 10-day marijuana break, 
told to appear before Judge Charles Delehey Thursday at 11:30 a.m., 
and when he did ...

"My four year nightmare is over," he told me. "He said I've completed 
enough time. Out of 270 days, I did 140 or so."

According to Forchion, the public defender filed a motion Tuesday 
night asking the judge to end the sentence, and the judge apparently 
agreed. Forchion believes there's something in the law about him 
having a disease, etc., but what he really thinks happened is ...

"The timing is curious," Forchion said. "Yeah, of course, someone 
high enough up saw the news coverage and thought it was ridiculous."

And that's because it was ridiculous. But enough about the past. Onward, ho!

What's next Weedman?

"I'd like to say I'm going to Disneyland, but I went to voter 
registration to file so I can vote again. A lot of people don't know 
that once you're done with your sentence in New Jersey, you can 
register to vote again."

But of course - and as with just about everything the Weedman does - 
things aren't as simple as they appear.

"I'm going to file to run against Steve Lonegan in the 3rd district 
(for Congress)," Forchion said. The man can't help himself. Which is 
why I asked him the following, a question I've been meaning to ask 
him for years. See, I've been writing about Forchion since 1999, and 
back then, he was an outsider's outsider. He wasn't even welcomed by 
the mainstream legalize movement. But today? Things have changed. 
Marijuana has been legalized in two states, decriminalized in 16 
others, used as medicine in handful more. The landscape has 
dramatically changed. But the Weedman hasn't. Can he change? Can he 
put it all behind him and just ... move on?

"In the 90s I was treated like a zero, now I'm treated like a hero," 
he said. "I haven't changed. The things I say, the arguments are the 
same. But the times have changed, the attitudes have changed, the 
legal landscape has changed."

So ...

"I'm stuck as the Weedman now," the Weedman said. "On one hand, you 
can say I've ruined my life with this cause, but on the other hand 
I'm right. I'm on the righteous side. Every year, 20,000 New Jersey 
residents are arrested on marijuana charges. Over 800,000 Americans 
are arrested each year because of marijuana."

So today, Forchion is free. He's got one more case lingering - he was 
caught with a pair of joints in Evesham - and he's still appealing 
the conviction in the case he just released in. (In both situations, 
he's basically seeking to overturn the criminal marijuana statutes in 
New Jersey. And no, he's not kidding. And yes, his case seems pretty 
airtight, quite frankly. Let's nutshell, shall we? From what I wrote 
last year: Marijuana is 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, New Jersey has 
recognized its medical use, as has nearly half the country. So it 
seems like it shouldn't be a Schedule I. And if it's not Schedule I, 
it really should be a Schedule IV, which would basically 
decriminalize/legalize it. Anyway ...)

Anyway, Forchion said he plans on spending time both here and in 
California for the time being, and then figure out a way to make some 
money off his fame. (He previously had a dispensary in California, 
but that was busted up by the feds a few years back. 
Not-so-shockingly, it's a long story.)

"I'm so far in, I have to get some money out of this," he said. "I've 
got to go and strike green. I'm not a '49er; I'm a 420er."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom