With police just feet away, Forchion sold marijuana to about 10 people outside the seat of state government. Inside the building, lawmakers did not act on legislation to allow adults to use marijuana without medical conditions, and Senate President Stephen Sweeney conceded that lawmakers would not meet his September deadline to pass a bill.
"Hey buddy, we're selling weed out here!" Forchion called out to a man walking outside the statehouse. "Twenty bucks!"
In front of Murphy's office, Forchion lit up a joint as a state trooper watched him. The trooper did not arrest or cite Forchion, but rousted the activist and about a dozen others in his entourage from outside the governor's office to a spot down the street. Forchion wore an orange "Mercer County Correctional Center" jumpsuit.
Forchion practically dared the troopers to arrest him, while others in his entourage urged him to comply with orders. Forchion has been free for just four months after more than a year in prison for a case that stemmed from an investigation of his Trenton restaurant, NJWeedman's Joint, that police suspected as a hub for drug sales. Prosecutors charged Forchion with witness tampering for alleged threats he made against a confidential informant who had helped police.