In his Trenton, New Jersey, shop filled with pot, edibles, shrooms, grinders, bongs, and novelty T-shirts, Ed Forchion watched Election Day this year with dismay. Voters in the state were set to issue a verdict on legal weed. Forchion is something of a local marijuana legend: He once tried to change his legal name to “NJWeedMan,” as he’s known professionally. (He was unsuccessful.) He livestreams, often with guests, from inside his marijuana heaven in the state capital, where the façade has his face printed all over it, along with a vinyl decal of a gigantic joint.
Forchion’s shop, NJ Weedman’s Joint, has been here in plain view for years, despite state law forbidding the sale of recreational marijuana. But on Election Day, New Jersey voters amended the state constitution and joined the ranks of the now 15 states that have approved recreational pot use and sales. The measure was broadly popular: More than two-thirds of voters were in favor, a margin higher than in any other state so far, and the amendment is expected to create a pot market second only in size to California’s.
Many have hailed the voters’ decision, including Gov. Phil Murphy, who championed the measure. But Forchion—who’s run several times for office, including once to represent Jersey’s 12th Congressional District with the Legalize Marijuana party—surprised me when he told me he bitterly opposed the amendment and had voted against it.
His reasoning was simple: He’s certain there will be no place for people like him in the “new” market, or for the other Black sellers who have been targeted by law enforcement for the trade for years. “The question wasn’t for real legalization,” he told me. “Marijuana will still be illegal. But corporate cannabis won’t be.
“I’ve been sitting here selling weed all this time. Now they’re making a new cannabis industry, which gets to sell weed. Like, hell no,” he said.