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.
The Weedman has ran for office several times in the past, including for governor of New Jersey in 2005 and U.S. Congress three times, most recently in 2016 when he received more votes under the Legalize Marijuana Party than both the Green Party and Libertarian Party candidates combined. He also briefly announced a bid this year, from jail, for mayor of Trenton, the state's capital, which he had to call off due to not being able to make it onto the ballot from a lack of signatures; Forchion claimed it was because the city clerk failed to get him the proper forms while he was in jail.
He ran for state Assembly once before, too, but as he eyes a seat in the Legislature this time around he's hoping things will play out differently, as New Jersey is currently in a unique spot with regards to drug policy reform. The state is now closer to legalizing recreational cannabis than ever before, due to the election of Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat who campaigned on legalizing the plant for adult-use.