cannabisnews.com: Assembly Candidate is Arrested in Stratford Assembly Candidate is Arrested in Stratford Posted by FoM on October 13, 1999 at 09:24:01 PT By Shannon O'Boye Source: Philadelphia Inquirer Ed Forchion, the self-proclaimed "NJ Weedman," who is running for the Assembly and the Camden County freeholders board on a "legalize marijuana" platform, has been arrested on several warrants. When Stratford police stopped Forchion, 35, of Chesilhurst, Monday night and charged him with speeding, they discovered that Woodbury, Winslow, Gloucester Township and Haddon Heights had warrants out for his arrest because he failed to appear for municipal court dates within the last year for possession of small amounts of marijuana,resisting arrest and trespassing.After Stratford police gave Forchion tickets for speeding, driving with a suspended license, driving with an expired license, and driving without insurance, they transported him to the county jail, where he was being held yesterday after failing to post $2,995 bail.Stratford Police Chief James Fuller said neither he nor the arresting officer had been aware that they were stopping Forchion, an outspoken opponent of marijuana laws and local and state government who has had run-ins with the law before.He was arrested Nov. 24, 1997, in Bellmawr and charged with possession of more than 25 pounds of marijuana, which is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Forchion has said he wants his case argued before a jury in the hope that the men and women will nullify marijuana laws and vindicate him.His next court date in that case is scheduled for Nov. 1, the day before Election Day.He is running for the Assembly in the Eighth District and is listed on the ballot as Edward "NJ Weedman" Forchion.October 13, 1999© 1998 Philadelphia Newspapers Inc. Legalize Marijuana Partyhttp://www.jersey.net/~njdevil/ Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #1 posted by Ed Forchion on October 29, 1999 at 16:07:23 PT: NJ Candidate - wants juror's. Cherry Hill NJ )-Ed Forchion is running for two offices in November, but he doesn't think he is going to win. In fact, he doesn't even want to win. Ed Forchion of the Legalize Marijuana Party is using his campaign to draw attention to his approaching drug trial. Representing the Legalize Marijuana Party, he is running for an Eighth District Assembly seat and a seat on the Camden County Board of Freeholders because, he said, it is the best way to reach potential jurors at his forthcoming trial in Camden County Superior Court. The last two years of Forchion's life have been consumed by his trying to convince people that he is not "just another black drug dealer." "I view myself as a freedom fighter with the dedication of Martin Luther King, the independence of Malcolm X," said Forchion, 35. "But I will probably spend close to the amount of time in jail as did Nelson Mandela unless Jury Nullification is used." Forchion faces more than 20 years in prison and $300,000 in fines after being arrested during a drug raid in Bellmawr on Nov. 24, 1997. He was charged with, among other things, possession with the intent to distribute more than 25 pounds of marijuana, which Gov. Whitman had made a first-degree offense in August 1997. Forchion, a former cross-country truck driver, said he had, in the past, delivered marijuana to groups in Pennsylvania and New Jersey that he said used the drug for medical purposes. He denies ever selling the drug for profit. On the day of his arrest, Forchion said, he knew a shipment of marijuana was to come in and had a hunch that authorities had their eye on the package. So he went to the drop-off point, he said, to see what would happen. The Prosecutor's Office said Forchion and his brother Russell, 30, were arrested a short distance from the Bellmawr Industrial Park with 45 pounds of marijuana in their van. Another man, Eric Poole, 41, who worked at the factory and who signed for the FedEx package containing the marijuana, was arrested at the park. Russell Forchion and Poole pleaded guilty to lesser offenses. Russell was sentenced to seven years. Eric has plead guilty but has not been sentenced yet! ? Forchion pleaded not guilty and said he would like to mount a defense based on jury nullification - under which jurors refuse to convict because they believe the law that a person is accused of violating is unconstitutional - and freedom of religion. (Forchion is a Rastafarian and views marijuana as sacred in much the way that Christians, he said, view "the grapes" used to make the sacrament of Holy Communion.) Forchion has been appointed a private attorney because the Public Defender's Office refused to prepare a defense for him on those grounds. "Maybe it's because I'm so independent," he said. "How can the government tell me what I can put in my body? I chose to use marijuana, it's my body!" Forchion, whose pretrial court date is scheduled for next Monday - the day before Election Day - said he had not met his attorney. "I should be allowed to say what I want to say in court," he said as he snacked on a hot fudge sundae during an interview. He said he had smoked a marijuana joint before entering the restaurant and still got a craving for food when he was high, even though he said he had been smoking marijuana since he was 15. "I think I have a plan, if I could just find legal help," said Forchion, who stands 6 feet tall, weighs about 240 pounds, and wears dreadlocks and a long goatee. Forchion describes himself as a "nerd" who likes to study the Constitution. He said he had lived in anonymity, smoking marijuana every day, for years and would have continued to do so if not for his arrest. Aside from researching and preparing his defense, Forchion spends much of his time maintaining his "Legalize Marijuana Party" Web site and trying to draw attention to his cause by running for office. He does not campaign much. He has virtually no money and few campaign workers, but he said he sometimes handed out flyers and recently made a commercial that he said would be carried on a local cable station starting tomorrow. Annette Castiglione-Degan and Riletta Cream, the two Democratic freeholders running for re-election against Forchion and Republicans Orlando L. Chandler and Joseph J. Rosenello, said Forchion had the right to run for office, but they condemned him for preaching the legalization of marijuana. "It's outrageous to even say in a county that represents a city that we know is infested with drug activity," Castiglione-Degan said. "Certainly you can respect anyone's right to free speech - that goes without saying - but do I respect his position? Absolutely not. As a mother of teenagers, as a teacher of teenagers, as a citizen, as an elected official - with any of the hats that I wear - I cannot accept that position or understand it." Forchion's wife, Janice, 38, the mother of two of his four children, said that she was not a marijuana user but that she did not understand "what the fuss is over weed that you can grow in your backyard." She said authorities should "go after cocaine, crack and heroin. Those are the drugs that kill people." "If he goes to jail, who's the victim?" she asked. "My kids are. . . . I don't think that's fair." Forchion said he realized that some people think he is crazy, but he called himself "a little eccentric." He said people used to consider his hobbies - collecting guns, buying exotic fish and growing marijuana - "neat," but now they view him differently. I'm now seen as this radical person, when in fact I've always felt this way. I just was never cornered by the Drug Warrior's before. I'm just fighting back. The Legalize Marijuana Party [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: