cannabisnews.com: Pot Protester Wins Hearing To Return To Program





Pot Protester Wins Hearing To Return To Program
Posted by CN Staff on January 01, 2003 at 08:18:21 PT
By The Associated Press 
Source: Associated Press
Camden, N.J. -- The state must show why a marijuana legalization activist known as "NJ Weedman" should not be readmitted to an early parole program, a federal judge has ruled. Edward Forchion was sentenced to 10 years in prison after he pleaded guilty in 2001 to possessing 25 pounds of marijuana he planned to sell. The Pemberton Township man was admitted to the Intensive Supervised Parole program last spring, but was returned to prison after he allegedly violated its rules. 
Among the violations cited by state officials were several public service announcements that Forchion filmed _ but never aired _ that called for changes in the state's drug law. U.S. District Judge Joseph Irenas, sitting in Camden, scheduled a Jan. 21 hearing in the case. He said Tuesday that Forchion would probably not have been returned to jail if he had not spoken out about the drug laws. Forchion, who said he used marijuana because of his religious beliefs and for medical reasons, claims he has not used the drug while he was in jail or on parole. Forchion, who has sought to make "NJ Weedman" his legal name, has made three bids for a seat in Congress, losing twice and quitting one race after being indicted on drug charges. He also appeared at the Statehouse in March 2000 for an Assembly session wearing a black and white striped prisoner's costume. He allegedly began smoking marijuana on the floor of the Assembly chambers, claiming it was an act of civil disobedience, and was escorted out by state troopers. Complete Title: Pot Protester Wins Hearing on Bid To Return To Parole ProgramSource: Associated Press Published: January 1, 2003 Copyright: 2003 Associated Press Related Articles & Web Sites:NJWeedman.comhttp://www.njweedman.com CRRH Video's - Weedman Takes Cause To TVhttp://www.crrh.org/hemptv/misc_weedman.html'Weedman' Seeks Relief from Higher Courthttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14177.shtmlMarijuana Activist Fights New Jail Time http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14142.shtml
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Comment #5 posted by BGreen on January 01, 2003 at 12:02:35 PT
I Do Pick On Christians
because I am one and because I think they should know better. Those who remain silent about the injustice are JUST as GUILTY.My actual point was that the decision to cage people for any harm they might be doing to their bodies should either be strictly applied across the board, in which EVERYBODY would be caged, or else DON'T CAGE ANYBODY for "harming" their bodies.
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Comment #4 posted by BGreen on January 01, 2003 at 11:42:46 PT
Missouri Is Now In The Top Ten
states with the most obese population. Diabetes and heart disease is skyrocketing and is a pandemic in the US. We're the fattest nation in the world.We consider it to be a medical disorder when people are so grossly bloated that they can't get around the WalMart without driving a little scooter, but if you look at the GARBAGE they're pumping into their bodies it's easy to understand the cause of their "medical" condition.I'm not picking on overweight people. I have to fight like crazy to eat right and keep my weight under control. I was a fat kid, but that all changed my senior year of high school. I made a decision that I had to take control and I did.When I look at Christians who are hitting the scales at 400 to 500 pounds who are telling me I should go to jail for using cannabis because my "body is a temple," I'd like to ask them how their "MEGA-temple" is giving any glory to God. Look at John Candy and Chris Farley. People have the audacity to blame their deaths on substance abuse without acknowledging the true substance that killed them ... FOOD.Once again, here is another perfectly legal way to put a strain on the health care system and ultimately kill yourself, and I dare anybody to suggest caging fat people.Then again, we couldn't afford the prison food budget.
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Comment #3 posted by knox42897 on January 01, 2003 at 11:39:48 PT:
WEEDMAN
I remember 2 yrs ago, I was reading high times in new york and saw his ad political prisoner looking for correspondence. Being a former prisoner of war, I wrote him and sent him a $20. Funny thing is he went to LVNORML.com and sign in, I emailed him and we are supposed to get together and medicate. He's a cool guy, if you can send him mone, please do so. 
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Comment #2 posted by p4me on January 01, 2003 at 11:26:02 PT
Google for "California prison guards"
Here are the first wo paragraphs of the first result of the above google search. How long can California bleed $2 billion a month is the question.http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Prison_System/CalifPrisonGuards.html - Common Courage Press, 1998
 
There is a well fed Political Interest Group feasting at the California public trough, and most taxpayers are unaware of the huge growth in this creature's appetite and political clout. It has grown from a political runt to one of the biggest hogs in the barnyard in an incredibly short span of time. This group has swelled with such swiftness and cunning that most California taxpayers would not even recognize its name, much less realize how much of an impact it is having on their pocketbooks and on the state's economy. The group I'm speaking of is the California Correctional Peace Officer's Association (CCPOA).In 1980 there were 22,500 prisoners in California. The average salary for California prison guards was $14,400 a year. The state budget for corrections was $300 million per year. In the past, California schools and universities were the envy of the world. The state's economy was strong, bolstered by huge numbers of defense jobs. CCPOA was a politically minuscule organization vying for attention among the giants of fat defense contractors.http://www.cjcj.org/press/drug_policy.html - Have you ever wondered why California's prison population grew from 23,264 in 1980 to 160,846 in July 2000? It is not because rapists and murderers are finally getting their due; for the most part, that was already happening. What has driven the growth of the prison system in California over the past two decades is the 25-fold increase in the number of drug offenders sentenced to prison under harsh new state sentencing laws for virtually every offense imaginable. Because of these laws, California now has the highest rate of drug offender incarcerations in the nation - 134 per 100,000. A rate that exceeds states such as Texas and Louisiana, where compassion and sympathy for law breakers is not highly prized (49 per 100,000 and 106 per 100,000 respectively). AndWhy is this addict population coveted by the prison guards union when the prisons are so overcrowded? The answer goes beyond just the union's desire for more prisons and increased staff. When the system is overcrowded, the prisons must maintain a ratio of guards to inmates. To maintain this ratio, the system either hires more guards or grants overtime. Overtime is the highly favored option because it allows current line staff to double their yearly salaries. It is not uncommon for California prison guards to earn over $100,000 a year. Should the number of inmates drop below current levels, extra income from overtime is lost and the argument for more prisons loses merit. There is a currently dated listing of 12/30/02 for the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice website- http://www.cjcj.org/cpp/index.php - that can tell you more than you want to know including this from http://www.cjcj.org/cpp/ccf_growth.php - The state of California operates the third largest penal system in the world [http://www.rut.com/mdavis/hellfactories.html] 1. California’s inmate population ranks behind only China’s national correctional system and the United States’ national correctional system. California’s inmate population has exploded by 554% since 1980 (from 24,549 to 160,655) 
[http://www.cdc.state.ca.us/pdf/hist00.pdf] (PDF) 
 
California’s inmate population growth (24,569 to 160,655) over the past 20 years represents a 554% increase. 
In the same 20 year span, the number of correctional facilities in California has nearly tripled, growing from 12 to 33. 
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Comment #1 posted by p4me on January 01, 2003 at 10:12:30 PT
2003 minus 1937 equals 66 years of bad policy
Well, we did not kill cannabis prohibition last year and here we are subjected to the same lies and nonsense. I have a hard time understanding how Weedman got an kind of probation being an outspoken pothead caught with 25 pounds of herbal bliss. The prisons must be full or demanding too much funding.California's budget cuts are going to be an interesting story. The LA Times had quoted Davis pegging the deficit at $34.8 billion this year. Just a few days ago the NY Times said it was $34.8 billion for the last 6 months of this fiscal year and the next fiscal year. I wonder how they financed deficits so far because they had no rainy day funds to build reserves for an economic turndown. The annual expenses are running at $100 billion with a $25 billion shortfall. It takes a two-thirds majority in the legislature to raise taxes and it does not look promising on the tax raising side. I would think the only way to fund the current situation is to borrow money from the states retirement fund and it seems like that would raise a big stink and have to be paid back even if it is a temporary source of funds. California needs to cut one in four doolars it spends. Now in a state that spends more on prisons than schools, what are they going to do? A powerful union of highly paid prison personnel make the showdown an event to follow. 
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