VIDEO: 'Weedman' sells pot in front of Statehouse, avoids arrest
Ed Forchion, also known as 'NJ Weedman,' sells and smokes marijuana outside the Statehouse and avoids being arrested. Thomas P. Costello, USA Today Network New Jersey
Ed Forchion, also known as 'NJ Weedman,' sells and smokes marijuana outside the Statehouse and avoids being arrested. Thomas P. Costello, USA Today Network New Jersey
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!"
For decades minorities have had marijuana in their neighborhoods. There is no shortage of weed in the hood. If one in the hood wants weed, there is weed. There really is a black-market of weed in minority neighborhoods, weed distribution systems that have been in place for decades. That said and done, now the state is proposing that the hood stop buying its weed in the hood and buy it from the state’s chosen few, none of which are us.
In what he’s calling an act of civil disobedience, Edward “NJWeedman” Forchion says he’ll sell weed outside the statehouse annex in Trenton at 1 PM tomorrow to call attention to his opposition to making marijuana a “white only marijuana distribution industry” in New Jersey.
Forchion, a frequent candidate for public office, is seeking an unexpired term in the State Assembly from the 15th district in November.
The man popularly known as NJ Weedman has only been free for a few months after spending more than a year in jail — but he said he's so upset with a proposed marijuana legalization bill he's ready to go back.
In an email sent Tuesday, Ed Forchion challenged the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office — specifically county Prosecutor Angelo Onofri and two of the prosecutors on ihs team — to arrest him for selling marijuana.
Weedman's stereo has been stolen. We're walking—not particularly quickly—through Trenton, in the heart of New Jersey's state capital, to get to a pawnshop. Hours have passed since 11 AM, when Weedman—a 54-year-old Rastafarian named Ed Forchion—first took the lighter attached to his belt loop and ripped the morning's inaugural bowl. He's had several hits since, and it's become one of those August afternoons that's so hot and humid somebody's bound to bring up climate change.
Gov. Phil Murphy’s election was the kind of catalyst the cannabis industry was waiting for. In the months since Murphy was sworn in, the industry has spread its wings, hosting symposia around the state and creating trade associations in anticipation of the day when weed would be legal. Seven months later, they’re still waiting.
“There’s very few industries in any sector, very few industries where you can actually start up and create an economic boom right away and cannabis will do that,” said Scott Rudder, president of the NJ Cannabusiness Association.
Edward Forchion is an activist, author, restaurateur, and, most recently, a candidate for the New Jersey Legislature. Forchion, known as NJ Weedman, has been advocating marijuana legalization in the Garden State for more than two decades. Now, at 54, he's running for the New Jersey Assembly in the 15th District, and, if elected come November 6th, he would be able to have a direct influence on the policies he's spent a large chunk of his life promoting.
dePierro states “New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy recently expanded access to the state’s medical marijuana programs and reiterated his desire to legalize marijuana for recreational use. In support of his efforts, the Governor issued “Executive Order 6″ which expedites and relaxes the permitting process for new Distribution Centers. The Executive order also permits the manufacture, processing and sale of edible cannabis products.
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