Prosecutors in Mercer County have dropped or dismissed the remaining criminal charges against a notorious marijuana activist who spent months in jail before being found not guilty by a jury.
But Ed Forchion, more commonly known as “NJ Weedman,” won’t be lighting up in celebration.
“I kind of feel disappointed. I know most people would be happy,” he said Wednesday after hearing the news from a reporter. “I was looking forward to going to trial. No jury would convict me. It’s all been nothing but a police vendetta against me.”
Prosecutors on Wednesday cited “the recent shift in the climate of marijuana legislation in New Jersey” and the fact that Forchion had spent a year in jail even though he was never found guilty as a reason for their sudden move.
Forchion had been facing numerous drug-dealing charges stemming from a March 2016 raid on his restaurant and marijuana temple, located across the street from City Hall.
The trial on those counts had been put on hold after prosecutors last year slapped him with witness tampering charges. He was found not guilty on those charges during trials in November and last month.
Because witness tampering is one of the few charges exempt from the state’s new bail reform laws, Forchion had to sit behind bars with no chance at bail for more than a year until his acquittal last month.