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| County's 'Weedman' Released from State Prison |
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Posted by FoM on April 06, 2002 at 09:53:08 PT By Mike Mathis, BCT Staff Writer Source: Burlington County Times 
Perennial political candidate and marijuana legalization advocate Ed "njweedman" Forchion has been released from state prison. Forchion, a Pemberton Township resident, was sentenced in December 2000 to 10 years in prison for conspiring to distribute 40 pounds of marijuana.He was released from Bayside State Prison in Leesburg, Cumberland County, on Tuesday and has entered a program in which he must refrain from smoking marijuana and must find a job. He also must provide regular urine samples to demonstrate that he is staying clean. Forchion said yesterday that he would not smoke marijuana while he is enrolled in the program for the next 18 months. He declined to say whether he would smoke marijuana after he completes the program. Forchion is a former truck driver who has been an outspoken advocate of legalizing marijuana. A professed observer of the Rastafarian faith, Forchion has said he smoked marijuana for religious reasons as well as to ease back pain. "I haven't changed my religious views, but if I smoke pot, they will throw me back in prison," Forchion said yesterday in a telephone interview from his home in the Browns Mills section of the township, where he resides with his wife and three children. Forchion was charged with helping his brother and another man pick up a shipment of 40 pounds of marijuana at Bellmawr Industrial Park on Nov. 24, 1997. The marijuana was shipped from a supplier in Arizona via Federal Express. Forchion was tried on charges of distribution and possession of marijuana in October 2000, but pleaded guilty to those charges and two unrelated charges during his trial. He tried to withdraw his plea prior to being sentenced because he said he was barred from using a defense strategy called "jury nullification" at his trial. Jury nullification is the hope that a jury decides not to enforce a law out of sympathy for the defendant. He said he has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia against the Camden County Prosecutor's Office, challenging the decision. Forchion said he refrained from smoking marijuana while he was in prison but did write a book, "njweedman: Fair Trial Denied," which he is trying to sell to a publisher. "The whole time I was in prison, I didn't smoke marijuana," Forchion said. "There's plenty of marijuana in prison and I decided I wasn't going to smoke it." Because Forchion has been convicted of a crime, state law bars him from running for political office. He ran unsuccessfully against U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews, D-1st of Haddon Heights, in 1998 and 2000 on the Legalize Marijuana Party ticket. He also lost when he ran for a seat on the Burlington County Board of Freeholders in 2000. Forchion also ran unsuccessfully in 1999 for an 8th District state Assembly seat and for a seat on the Camden County freeholder board. Source: Burlington County Times (NJ) Related Articles & Web Site: Legalize Marijuana Party Forchion Crusading To Legalize Marijuana Activist Appeals Pot Busts Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
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| Comment #6 posted by DdC on April 07, 2002 at 15:46:00 PT |
| JC/DC http://pub3.ezboard.com/fendingcannabisprohibitionlinx.showMessage?topicID=76.topic http://boards.marihemp.com/boards/politics/media/40/40295.gif Alter-Nativity [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #5 posted by Dankhank on April 06, 2002 at 21:34:20 PT:
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| And high to you, also, Rev ...
I was at that Liberty Bell Smokeout, too ...
Think of the first guy who took the spliff from Ed ... Peace to all who teach, and fight!! Again, welcome home, Ed ... [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #4 posted by mayan on April 06, 2002 at 15:50:50 PT |
| If our forefathers were here they would be up in arms seeing how the country they created is dictating how a person worships. They died for nothing. What a dirtbag,low-life,scum-sucking government we have here. Any institution which attempts to keep a person seperated from their religion or spirituality is nothing short of evil. I doubt that God will bless Amerika. [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #3 posted by Rev Jonathan Adler on April 06, 2002 at 15:30:32 PT:
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| Aloha and Praise the Lord! Ed Forchion is back! Well Weedman, I am hoping you find a way through, as d o I. It has been a while since the class-action suit in Philly that
we participated. in front of the Liberty Bell! We smoked i front of the guards! Anything it takes to let freeedom reign.... Jonathan (Still innocent and not Proven Guilty) Adler Candidate for Hawaii Governor - registered as Natural Law Party [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #2 posted by DdC on April 06, 2002 at 11:54:23 PT |
| Because Forchion has been convicted of a crime, state law bars him from running for political office.Home CONveeeeeeeeenient for the D.E.A.th Worshipers!!!Free the Political Prisoners of WoD!!! http://boards.marihemp.com/boards/politics/media/37/37460.gif I LOST MY FREEDOM Linx http://pub3.ezboard.com/fendingcannabisprohibitionlinx.showMessage?topicID=22.topic [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #1 posted by Hope on April 06, 2002 at 11:15:20 PT |
| Just a day or two ago, I was thinking about Da Weedman, wondering how he was doing. I'm so glad he's out of the penitentiary and back home with his family. [ Post Comment ] |
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