What was Assemblyman Reed Gusciora smoking? That question immediately came to mind when we learned of his plans to introduce a bill next month that would legalize recreational marijuana in Atlantic City. Gusciora, D-Mercer, says legalization would breathe new life into the struggling city, stimulating a new breed of gambler and making it an attractive destination for people from all over the U.S. "I think people from across the country would come out here for vacations and take advantage of legalized recreational marijuana. No other casino offers this, not even Nevada, so this would be unique. It's a way for our casinos to say that we have a unique experience," Gusciora said. [continues 420 words]
Incrementalism - at its best, devilish at its worst: I don't want to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but I think people should understand what the state is doing: mass collection of DNA material. Of course it's being touted by the state as a totally good thing. The state and the DNA collecting corporations loudly point out that old criminal cases were solved using DNA, which is great. What they neglect to explain is how millions will have their genetic code for destruction collected also by the state. [continues 1232 words]
Last week Donald Trump once again lied. This time he said he saw thousands of Muslims in Jersey City celebrating 9/11 - which is a flatout lie that many others are now repeating. Can you say revisionist Christian history? I remember soon after 9/11, watching the events from my Riverfront State Prison cell's cable TV and seeing Palestinians in Gaza and Egyptians cheering Osama bin Laden's revenge attacks. Nothing like that happened in the USA or it would've been on TV, on someone's camera, and in the press. Local police would've responded to this, and it could've been on the front pages of national newspapers.I'm a newsjunkie; allI do is read, listen to, and watch news. A couple newspapers at the time actually printed that Israelis were arrested in New Jersey celebrating, but I'm sure Trump doesn't remember this. It doesn't fit the reality he wants to believe: http:// tinyurl.com/whathappenedisraelis [continues 179 words]
Re: "Legalizing marijuana is not the answer" (Commentary, Nov. 25) Diane Litterer, CEO and executive director of the New Jersey Prevention Network, makes the common mistake of assuming that marijuana prohibition reduces marijuana use. The United States has almost double the lifetime rate of marijuana use as the Netherlands, where marijuana has been legally available for decades. If the goal of marijuana prohibition is to deter use, prohibition is a catastrophic failure. If the goal is to subsidize violent drug cartels, marijuana prohibition is a grand success. [continues 80 words]
TRENTON (AP) - Nearly double the number of people were arrested for marijuana possession in a year in New Jersey compared to 20 years ago, according to the latest figures available. The change runs counter to the nationwide trend as public acceptance of marijuana use grows in the United States, leading generally to a decline in arrests. Udi Ofer, executive director of New Jersey' ACLU chapter, said he's especially concerned by the numbers because studies show African-Americans are charged with simple possession three times as much as whites despite both groups having the same usage rates for the drug. [continues 182 words]
Currently, New Jersey leaders are considering legalizing the sale and possession of marijuana in addition to permitting the cultivation of marijuana in a person's home. The lessons being learned in Colorado make it clear that legalizing marijuana is a dangerous proposal that will negatively affect the health and wellness of New Jersey residents. Legalization of medical and recreational marijuana has caused youth to develop low perceptions of risk towards marijuana use. This is being exacerbated by the changing social acceptance and increased visibility and availability through open use by adults and older peers. States like Colorado, which have legalized medical and/or recreational marijuana use, have the highest rates of youth and adult marijuana use in the nation. [continues 500 words]
Nationwide, the Numbers Have Dropped. Some Critics Point to a Crackdown Spurred by Governor. As public acceptance of marijuana use grows in the United States, nationwide arrests for simple possession of pot have dropped in recent years. New Jersey is going in the opposite direction. Marijuana arrests in the state jumped 10 percent in 2012 and 2013, according to the latest New Jersey State Police Uniform Crime Reports. In fact, the 24,765 arrests made for possessing small amounts of marijuana in 2013 is the highest number in 20 years, and nearly double the amount in 1993, when the state's population was 12 percent less, based on state police statistics and an analysis by the ACLU of New Jersey. In the five years prior to 2013, arrests had hovered around 22,000. [continues 901 words]
This past week has been a memorable week for me for several reasons, but talk of legalizing the substance I enjoy and which has caused the government to ruin me tops the list. Senator Scutari held a public hearing at the state capitol to explore the issue of marijuana legalization, a precursor to his sponsored legalization bill. Scutari, who as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, called the hearing and explained its purpose as "the first step" to introducing his bill (S1896) and "this is the natural next step - to talk about the benefits of legalization and the negative impact prohibition has had." [continues 1182 words]
TRENTON (AP) - New Jersey's Democratic-controlled Legislature took a step toward a showdown with Gov. Chris Christie over legalized marijuana on Monday. A state Senate panel convened a hearing on legalizing the drug, and a leading Democratic lawmaker says it's time to bring it out of an underground economy by legalizing, taxing and regulating it. "I believe our state should lead the way," Democratic state Sen. Nicholas Scutari said. Scutari, who has authored a bill that would legalize, tax and regulate marijuana for people over 21, sketched a scenario in which the drug comes out of what he called a "black market" and gives way to a billion-dollar industry. [continues 322 words]
Regarding the Nov. 16 article "Marijuana's in bloom in N.J.," why this headlong rush into legalizing recreational marijuana? The only answer that makes any sense is that legislators see a big pot (pardon the pun) of tax revenue. They are willing to put many of us at risk so that they can have a new source of money to spend. They claim to be concerned about our health and that is why we've been subjected to countless warnings about the harmful effects of tobacco smoke for the last 40-plus years. Now, not a word about the harmful effects of marijuana smoke. Why? Health issues alone are enough to label the recreational use of marijuana as damaging to your health and should be avoided. [continues 159 words]
Columnist L.A. Parker should blame drug prohibition for violence and death, not suburban drug users. Drug addiction is color-blind and impacts rural, suburban and urban areas. Drug prohibition fosters corruption and criminal activity; it's a cure worse than the disease. Switzerland's heroin maintenance program has been shown to reduce disease, death and crime by providing addicts with standardized doses in a clinical setting. The success of the Swiss program has inspired heroin maintenance pilot projects in Canada, Germany, Spain, Denmark and the Netherlands. [continues 145 words]
On Monday, the state Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a first-ever hearing for New Jersey on legalizing marijuana. Can we just cut through all of the usual nonsense and legalize it once and for all? It's going to happen, at some point. Medicinal marijuana is already in place in New Jersey - albeit grudgingly on Gov. Chris Christie's part. Public support for full legalization is growing; a summer Fairleigh Dickinson PublicMind poll showed 49 percent in favor and 46 percent opposed. [continues 441 words]
Recent heroin drug busts in Trenton underscored a standard relationship between drug dealer and drug addict. The great truth regarding heroin sales shows that urban area drug problems are directly connected to suburban drug users. One Trentonian photo in October highlighted this drug exchange theme as arrested city resident Jaishawn Mathis, who is black, faced heroin possession and distribution offenses. Astonishment existed that Mathis, who had allegedly been shot a month before his arrest (nothing personal just part of street business), had stepped back out on the city's drug playing field. His determination highlights the grab for suburban dollars as those residents find heroin here then hustle back to their bedrooms and dens. [continues 737 words]
TRENTON (AP) - New Jersey lawmakers are planning a hearing next week to consider legislation to legalize recreational use of marijuana. The Senate Judiciary Committee will hear from clergy, health professionals, law enforcement officials, and other policy experts on Monday, Sen. Nicholas Scutari (D., Union) said Monday. "There is no question that we need to update our archaic drug laws in this country, and the majority of people support regulating, taxing, and legalizing marijuana," Scutari said. The announcement comes as lawmakers prepare for a lameduck session of the Legislature and Gov. Christie spends time outside New Jersey campaigning for the Republican nomination for president. Marijuana has been legalized for all uses in Colorado, Washington, Oregon, and Alaska, and for medical use in nearly 20 other states, including New Jersey. [continues 99 words]
I'm feeling like Crispus Attucks, Nat Turner, and Malcolm X all rolled up into one. Crispus Attucks is considered the first person to be killed in the Revolutionary War; I don't want to be the first to fall, but I too demand to be on the front lines. Nat Turner took it upon himself to organize a slave revolt; I myself am now calling for a Reefer Revolution. Malcolm X said "by any means necessary"; I think it's necessary to use jury nullification as a means to end the cannabis trials. I feel I'm at a crossroads in life, and all three of these historical figures' ideas are in my THC-enhanced mind. [continues 780 words]
I ask and answer this because I'll probably be arrested on Monday October 26 in front of the Ocean County Courthouse for passing out jury nullification awareness literature in defiance of an illegal verbal order issued by Lieutenant Green of the Ocean County Sheriff's Department at the behest of the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office. I feel no remorse for not complying with this unconstitutional order. So I expect to be jailed; the only question is, for how long? How this came to be: Last week, libertarian activist and Fully Informed Jury Association (FIJA) member Jim Babb was ordered to leave the public area in front of the Ocean County Courthouse before being threatened with arrest and told he was being investigated for jury tampering for passing out fija.org-jury rights literature. (Please watch this video: http://tinyurl.com/ ocsherriff) [continues 1268 words]
Here's a prediction: Marijuana will be legal New Jersey in three years. All that needs to happen is for a reasonable human being to assume the governor's throne, as our current fearless leader, Chris Christie, has repeatedly said he'd never allow anyone to legally blaze a joint in the Garden State. As such, he has vowed to never sign a legalization bill. And there are bills, for the record. Bills that would seek to either decriminalize or fully legalize marijuana are waiting to be heard. [continues 520 words]
Can we be optimistic about New Jersey's future if Democratic legislators care more about potential tax revenue than the dangers in legalizing recreational marijuana? This state's drug epidemic is severe enough without further enticing the young, poor and uninformed with a "gateway drug" to heroin addiction. Yet, in spite of denials, those promoting marijuana for medical use are also encouraging legalization for pleasure. The potential consequences are dire. How can we discourage experimentation or usage by the young if liberal politicians proclaim it legal and safe. [continues 176 words]
In response to the Oct. 14 oped, "Sentence doesn't fit crime" by Ken Wolski, this is why I do not respect the justice system. John Peditto, whose trial begins Oct. 20 in Toms River, was growing 17 plants, not a field of marijuana to sell to school students, and he may receive a prison sentence of 31-plus years? He didn't shoot, beat up, take hostages, bully or harass anyone and we will have taxpayers paying for 31-plus years of jail time. I hope the jury is smarter than the system. Driving Under the Influence violators don't even do that much time, if any. [continues 114 words]
America has the highest incarceration rate in the world. President Obama recently said the U.S. has only 5 percent of the world's population, but has 25 percent of the world's prisoners. What is creating this Incarceration Nation is the War on Drugs, nearly half of which is a war on marijuana. More precisely, it is a war on people who use marijuana. Take, for example, the case of Jon Peditto, whose marijuana trial is scheduled to begin on Oct. 20 in Toms River. Peditto was found by law enforcement officers to be growing 17 marijuana plants. For this non-violent crime he faces 31 1/2 years in state prison. [continues 694 words]
I'm black, so obviously I support this concept that my life matters too. I also grew up in the suburbs of South Jersey, in a two-parent middle class home, believing that I was equal to my suburban white counterparts. I never thought I'd go to prison, especially not for marijuana. I officially entered the marijuana legalization movement on November 24, 1997. On that morning I was arrested in Bellmawr, NJ, by the Camden County drug task force for possession of marijuana with intent to distribute when a 40-pound package was delivered by Fed-Ex. Many activists start their activism in handcuffs; I was no different - my activism started in earnest after I was arrested. That cold steel around your wrists for marijuana makes people want to change sh*t. [continues 1002 words]
Despite Soaring Rates of Addiction, Treatment Remains Hard to Access and Prohibitively Expensive Ashley Gibbons had been holding it together, or so she told herself. Sure, she had sold off her electronics, stolen money from her mother and slept with guys who gave her money. But it wasn't as if she was an actual prostitute: "I didn't go and find random people. I knew them," she said. She had tried heroin for the first time at 21, four years ago, and for a long while, it remained an occasional thing. But she needed more and more to get high, and, though she held onto her job, pretty soon everything else was falling apart. [continues 2669 words]
Court Runs Justice Off Road With Vehicle Search Decision Generally speaking, when I hear stories about the police gaining more power over the citizens they're sworn to protect and serve, I don't like it. I don't like the idea of police officers having unchecked powers, don't like the idea of living at the mercy of the police, don't like the idea of anything resembling a police state. But when it comes to the state Supreme Court's recent reversal of itself when it comes to probable cause searches of cars, I've got no problem with it. [continues 368 words]
Police can now search a vehicle without a warrant if they have probable cause to believe there is contraband or evidence of a crime as long as the circumstances that led to the probable cause are foreseeable and spontaneous. In other words, police, who are already in an incredible struggle with society regarding use of force, have just assumed more power. Legal traffic stops can now morph into police in full violation of a motorist's rights based on an officer being pissed off because a person refuses to kiss his pinkie ring. The Supreme Court ruling reverts back to 2009 law but the national issues between police and community are in much more dire conditions now then six years back. [continues 381 words]
The end of the second prohibition era draws near. The disastrous consequences of the misbegotten "War on Drugs," with its focus on marijuana, are now widely recognized. More humane approaches to drug use are being implemented as states ease restrictions. But not if the bitter-enders prevail - as witness Gov. Chris Christie's struggle with the issue in the most recent GOP debate. President Nixon declared war on drugs in 1971, placing the counter-culture's favored drug, marijuana, on Schedule I of controlled substances. Since then, countless lives have been ruined, not so much by the drug itself, but by the legal regime that followed. [continues 658 words]
I hear the Pentagon ordered Gov. Christie to tell his National Guard commander to lose weight. At first I thought it was an Internet hoax, then I had to take a couple bong rips to stop laughing so hard. Ummm, can you say "Pot, meet the kettle." The late-night TV hosts have had a ball with this one. I can only take that as a funny scenario. Is it political or intentional? As far as timing goes it was perfect - right in the middle of his presidential campaign. I'm with the "just say no to Christie" pot-smoking crowd. [continues 805 words]
Today I walked out of my Joint smoking a joint, and I ran into a billboard on East State Street near City Hall across the street from the Federal Courthouse. (Yeah, I feel in the open air I should have as much right to smoke my joint as the tobacco addict does to smoke his plant.) I instantly loved this billboard, it was right up my antagonistic alley. Here was a big sign calling the courts corrupt, right at the Fisher Federal Building - that's ballsy. Somebody wanted some attention, and me being a media whore myself - I'm game. So check out this billboard. [continues 1021 words]
TRENTON - Does marijuana have any connection to religious scriptures and priesthood? Anne Armstrong, a self-described Originalist Judeo-Christian who hopes to influence Pope Francis and President Barack Obama, says the cannabis flowering plant is indeed mentioned in the original Hebrew language editions of the Bible as a key ingredient in an oil mixture for priests. In Exodus 30:23, many English-language interpretations of the Bible refer to the herb in question as "sweet-smelling cane," but Armstrong, 55, of Providence, Rhode Island, said the correct Hebrew-to-English translation would be "cannabis" as she chilled Saturday afternoon in the rear courtyard behind NJ Weedman's Joint restaurant off East State Street. [continues 341 words]
Last Thursday I put out my joint, stepped out the door of my Joint, and crossed the street to pay a formal visit to City Hall. After meeting the City Council members I realized I shouldn't have put that joint out - I should've brought it with me and passed it to them. First impressions are lasting, and mine will always be how tense the Council members were. I remember thinking, they should keep calm and smoke weed. The City Council meets every other Thursday, so I took a petition full of citizen signatures and a group of medical marijuana patients and Joint staff with me to 1. introduce myself; and 2. ask the Council to consider an "initiative" that would put Trenton at the forefront of NJ marijuana law reform, alongside Asbury Park, which recently came out of the cannabis closet as a town thanks to the efforts of marijuana activists within the Libertarian Party. The AP City Council even passed a resolution calling on Governor Christie and the State Legislature to tax and regulate! [continues 1055 words]
I lost my appeal before the NJ Appellate Court. But before I go into that disappointment, in honor of Gov. Christie's presidential run and national prominence I've renamed my "Jive Turkey Burger" "THE CHRISTIE" and added a Twinkie on the side. (http://tinyurl.com/TheChristieBurger) I am a medical marijuana patient and I'm writing this column from the Philadelphia Veterans Administration hospital where I'm receiving treatment for my painful bone cancer condition. Last year I had my most prominent and painful tumor surgically removed. MRIs and my pain level have confirmed it's back - so technically I'm no longer in remission. [continues 1107 words]
If Chris Christie becomes president, he said he would enforce the federal marijuana laws. I'm also guessing he'd make husbands wear fedoras to work, make wives stay in the kitchen, and make sure the two of them gave each other a quick kiss goodnight before they turn into their individual twin beds. Point being: The clock marches forward, not backward, Chris-o. Now listen: Christie's view on pot hasn't changed all of a sudden because he's running for president. He's long been opposed to legalizing marijuana, but in recent weeks, he's ramped up the message. Why? Well, he's flailing about in the presidential polls and this is probably a good soundbite to get out there to the GOP base. [continues 500 words]
For the last five years Governor Christie has obstructed the real implementation of CUMMA (New Jersey's Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act). Now he looks like a fool on the national stage because of his "Politics of Pot" (which is also the name of my latest book featuring Governor Christie). Marijuana is going mainstream; CNN has become the Cannabis News Network and Dr. Gupta is its main mouthpiece. The legalization movement has succeeded in advancing in 23 states, including New Jersey, to a medical marijuana program. But some states' have a more effective program than others. Embarrassingly, New Jersey's program is considered a joke among patients because the product is limited to flowers (no tinctures or edibles), there are only three dispensaries serving a state of 8.9 million, and participation in the program is extremely expensive. CUMMA simply doesn't work; sadly, it's a failure. [continues 1166 words]
I made it to another digit-51. For most of my life I didn't think I'dmake it to 51. If you read my Column last Oct. 14, 2014, "Suicide is not a crazy option," you'd know what I This birthday is drastically different from previous years. Last year on my silver 50th I was miserable. I was in a full leg cast recovering from surgery to remove a bone tumor from my right femur; I was depressed, flat broke, unemployed, and had nothing planned. [continues 860 words]
In response to the July 2 letter "Monmouth and Ocean County hospitals to pay for Narcan," the partnership between Monmouth and Ocean County law enforcement and local health care systems furnishing police officers with naloxone (Narcan) is commendable. It is essential that emergency personnel are prepared to respond effectively in opioid overdose emergencies, and the initiative equipping police and EMTs with this life-saving medication is invaluable. Any mention of that program's utility and success, however, also should include a reminder that New Jersey's Overdose Prevention Act encourages anyone who may be in a position to help in an overdose to carry naloxone. [continues 134 words]
Important stoner alert: huge marijuana protest at LOVE PARK, Philadelphia 7/10, @ 4 p.m. SMOKE DOWN PROHIBITION https:// www.facebook.com/ events/469747533199955 . I usually say joint, but lately I haven't been Passing the Joint much because I've been taking bong rips - oops, Chalice inspirations. I have several Chalices, which are my sacramental bongs. Don't laugh; some use cannabis religiously, so if you're using a bong - oops, Chalice for religious purposes, shouldn't it be protected by the First Amendment? I think so. [continues 1063 words]
This week our infamous governor, Chris Christie, made headlines again with the announcement of his presidential campaign, following the release of polls showing an all time low approval rating by NJ residents. He's also ranked 11th, last place, among all the Republican candidates. Among the many crazy policies he has proposed is his stance on weed. He recently stated that he would go after legal cannabis states if elected president. With the public support for cannabis growing, and the number of states with legal recreational and medicinal cannabis growing, does Christie really seriously believe the majority of Americans will support a candidate with prohibition campaign? [continues 875 words]
HAMILTON - Six months after a local schoolteacher resigned following allegations of drug abuse and volatile behavior, the Hamilton Township Board of Education has adopted a comprehensive substance abuse policy that promises "appropriate discipline" against any educator who comes to work tipsy, drunk or drugged up. "We cannot have teachers come into the schools inebriated or out of control," Hamilton's school board president Tony Celentano said Tuesday in an interview with The Trentonian. The Trentonian reported in January the explosive allegations surrounding former Crockett Middle School teacher Joseph Mahon, who resigned from his teaching position last December after then Superintendent James Parla pushed for tenure charges and administrative hearings. [continues 504 words]
The State of New Jersey is funding several reforms in the name of abandoning the failed "war on drugs." These reforms include forcing Drug Court (DC), funding re-entry services and retrofitting jails as treatment centers. There is only one problem; these reforms actually fund the "war on drugs." The key tenet of the "war on drugs" is criminalizing people who use drugs and stripping rights from them via arrest, incarceration and institutionalization. These "reforms" are all post-arrest, post-incarceration, and leave failed drug criminalization in tact. [continues 164 words]
I had a great Father's Day with four of my five children. My one child, Ajanea, doesn't communicate with me. Her mind was poisoned by her scorned mother, who refused to allow me to bond with my daughter for 15 years. The Burlington County Family Court judges helped her with this by preventing me from having a relationship with my daughter because I publicly spoke THE TRUTH about marijuana. Free speech didn't exist in family court for me, and it ruined my relationship with my daughter. I hear I'm a grandfather, too, but I don't know thanks to Judge Bell and her bigoted co-judges. I don't hate too many things, but I'll tell anyone who'll listen: I hate the Burlington County Family Court judges, especially Judge Maria S. Bell. If you think Blackmen get the short end of stick in the criminal system, take a look at family court. [continues 1106 words]
TRENTON - Ed Forchion's new restaurant and sanctuary on East State Street will open its doors for business Monday morning. "I went from Burlington County Jail to State Street," Forchion said. "I'm stressing so much, I'm pulling my dreads out." NJ Weedman's Joint, located directly across the street from City Hall, will open at 7 a.m. Monday, and will serve affordable, healthy food. The menu will not offer any pork or beef, and will feature items such as sushi, pasta, fish, chicken, roasted vegetable platters, healthy soups, fruit platters, fresh sandwich wraps and more. There will also be a vegetarian menu, Forchion said, and the restaurant will offer natural energy drinks such as fruit smoothies, breakfast shakes and blended juices. [continues 257 words]
I'm going to cause a rip in Trenton. No not a bong rip, I take those all the time I'm talking about a rip (Religious Interruption in Procedures). We live in America and despite the claim that we have religious freedom in America we don't. The very prohibition issued by the founding fathers in the Bill of Rights was: "the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion" We commonly call this our Right to Religious Freedom, the first amendment. [continues 1043 words]
I'm writing to advocate for marijuana legalization, to stop hunting and jailing people based on disproved ideas and myths, to stop making police officers enemies to our children and to stop pouring billions of dollars down a bottomless hole. In 1972, a study commissioned by the Nixon administration found that marijuana is relatively harmless. The study was scrapped because the facts did not provide the desired result. Personally, I never found pot all that appealing. In the last 50 years since high school, I've known a few people who don't smoke, but I can't think of anyone who believes in punishment for those who do. I used to worry about my kids being caught up in this cops-and-robbers stuff. But like many, I did nothing, as if it was an accepted part of life. But soon I'll have the same concerns for my grandchildren, and I find that a bit hard to take. [continues 106 words]
The primaries are done, now the two major parties can begin the sham campaign they claim are the free elections. You see the two parties make all the rules and many of those rules are created to deny independents and third parties fair access to the general election in November. Last year as my readers know the Demo-Pukicans (as I call them) combined to deny me access to the US Congressional ballot in the 3rd district. This year as I gathered signatures to run for state assembly here in the 15th I read the fine election print and discovered the Demo-Pukicans made it so you must reside in the state district for one year, it's not the same in federal elections. [continues 933 words]
State vs Forchion. Memorial day - the difference between Memorial Day and Veterans Day is on Memorial Day it's a remembrance of those who died in battle. Veterans Day is for those who served. Memorial day is not supposed to be a happy holiday. Flags on Memorial Day should be half-staff (until noon*). On this Memorial Day I noticed a few that were forgotten up all day or not lowered in the AM. Oops I hate being told to shut up or not being allowed to speak for myself. I had a stunner this week, I had assumed since I represented myself at trial that here in the appeal I would as well. I had planned to speak, instead I was told to put that in motion form - so I did. [continues 388 words]
TRENTON - Marijuana activist and Trentonian columnist Ed Forchion has leased two adjoining East State Street properties and will soon open a restaurant and spiritual sanctuary. "I'm obviously catering to the cannabis consuming community in the area, but I also I want to tap into the artsy crowd here in Trenton," Forchion said. The properties, located directly across the street from City Hall, will be named NJ Weedman's Joint and Liberty Bell Temple III. The business is scheduled to open June 15, but on Monday afternoon about a dozen people were gathered at the restaurant as a chef cooked turkey burgers and Forchion explained his vision. The restaurant portion of the business will open at 6 a.m. on weekdays and serve affordable, healthy food, Forchion said. The menu will not offer any pork or beef, and will feature items such as sushi, pasta, fish, chicken, roasted vegetable platters, healthy soups, fruit platters, fresh sandwich wraps and more. There will also be a vegetarian menu, Forchion said, and the restaurant will offer natural energy drinks such as fruit smoothies, breakfast shakes and blended juices. [continues 540 words]
I woke up today feeling extremely good (more on that in next week's major announcement). While that may not be news to some it is to those close to me. I've been miserable for the last couple years; I admit, I fake happiness all the time. I exhibit cheesy smiles, fraudulent greetings, and I hold back on foul thoughts. I'm not happy with what happened with my life. It just isn't where I thought it would be, my relationships with my kids aren't where I thought they would be maybe I've been too obsessed with destroying the MJ laws, but they destroyed me first: I attribute most of my misery to the asinine marijuana laws and the idiotic enforcement of them, which everyone also knows I've fallen victim to a few times but I have everyday issues that affect my persona to the core as well. In my Nov. 6, 2014, column I even wrote "Suicide Is Not a Crazy Option." [continues 1006 words]
At 9 a.m. on May 27th the New Jersey Appeals Court will hold oral arguments in the most important marijuana case in New Jersey history. I'm being a little arrogant, but rightfully so because it's the truth. I'm talking about my case: State vs Forchion, 004477-12. The court must think so too, because the arguments aren't being heard in the regular appellate courtroom, but rather in the NJ State Supreme Courtroom. (PRESS RELEASE: http://tinyurl.com/ForchionPR - It's open to the public.) [continues 1207 words]
I am a peaceful, proud, patriotic pothead. As such, I relish the rights afforded to all Americans by the Bill of Rights, especially the First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and political expression. As a patriot I feel it's my duty to express my opinion on things my government does, whether it's popular or not. This is what I've always believed as I openly spoke out against our nation's war on drugs. Because of Mike Huckabee's presidential announcement, this column is dedicated to exercising my free speech rights again by voicing my opposition to America's daily bombing of the Middle East's Muslim populations. Which we've done for decades now, in the name of the goodness Huckabee-like Americans think we dole out. This is the real reason some of them want to attack us or bomb us back as Osama bin Laden did - not because they're jealous of our freedoms, as that self-righteous idiot from Texas claimed. [continues 967 words]
I've been coming to Trenton-the state capital-for 20 years to protest and to utilize state services, but I never lived in Trenton. Hopefully that will be changing ASAP: I'm looking for a little spot to call home. I've been living at my mom's house for the last year and a half since returning from California. But this past year I've mingled, smoked, and schmoozed with hundreds of Trentonians. I don't know what it is about TRENTON, but I'm loving it to the point I'm attempting to live and open a business here. [continues 1256 words]
I have a dilemma: Good Troopers In these times of altercations recorded on cell phone cameras and Internet hashtag campaigns against police abuse, I have a different dilemma: I can't commend the good officers for fear of getting them in trouble. I'm now being treated very well by New Jersey police - and I can't really write about it because I don't want to screw them up. I want good cops to prosper and weed out (pun intended) the bad ones. [continues 1142 words]
Inside New Jersey
