NJWeedman Runs For Congress in New Jersey !

NJWeedman

Runs For Congress

in New Jersey !

 

New Jersey - On this heels of his April 1 arrest for the possession of marijuana, Ed Forchion, better known as the New Jersey Weedman, has announced his bid to run for Congress in the state of New Jersey.  The long time cannabis activist is turning up the heat in his bid to not only avoid jail time, but to raise awareness about the contradictory medical marijuana laws in the state of New Jersey. On April 1, 2010, Forchion  made headlines when he was busted in New Jersey with a pound of cannibus in the trunk of his car. On May 14, 2010, Forchion filed his petition to run as an independent for New Jersey's 3rd Congressional District seat.

  

Forchion has lived in California since 2008, operating the famous state-registered medical marijuana clinic, the Liberty Bell Temple on Hollywood Blvd. in Hollywood, CA, but has always maintained a legal residence in the Pemberton Township in New Jersey.

As the founder of the Legalize Marijuana Party of New Jersey, this is not Forchion's first bid for office. He has run previous campaigns for Governor, U.S. Senate, Congress, the State Legislature, and the Burlington County Board of Freeholders.

Forchion also plans to file a constitutional challenge to New Jersey's new medical marijuana law as part of his criminal case.  In January, the governor signed legislation that would allow patients diagnosed with severe medical conditions like AIDS and cancer to access marijuana grown and distributed through state-monitored dispensaries.  Forchion says he will file a constitutional challenge of the law on the grounds that the state's criminal code - the one he was arrested and charged under - reads that marijuana has no medicinal value.  Forchion will utilize jury nullification to fight to have his charges dropped.

"I'm not that "HIGH" where I think I'll actually win the election. I'm a protest candidate," clarifies NJWeedman about his bid for Congress. "I'll win by bringing maximum national and international media exposure to New Jersey's racist inspired drug laws and to highlight the racist nature of Burlington County family court. While white New Jersey politicans have for years advocated changing New Jersey's marijuana laws without punishment, I have been denied the right to see my own child for the last 12 years because of my political stance and beliefs, even though I'm advocating changing the same marijuana laws."    

The racial politics of the "war on drugs" has been well documented. As noted in a recent article by  Ethan Nadelmann, the founder and executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance ( http://race.change.org/blog/view/why_ending_marijuana_prohibition_is_a_racial_justice_issue ), "of the 1.8 million drug arrests made last year, 750,000 were for nothing more than possession of a small amount of marijuana. That represents more than 40% of all drug arrests. The best available national evidence indicates that roughly the same proportion of blacks and whites use marijuana - but that black people are roughly three times more likely to be arrested for possessing marijuana."

As detailed in his new  book,  "Public  Enemy  # 420," Forchion has a history that spans decades in his quest for his right to smoke marijuana legally.  A cult figure in the marijuana legalization community,  he achieved  media notoriety when he was arrested for smoking marijuana in front of the entire New Jersey State Assembly in 2000, and garnered a national platform when he fired it up at Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, PA during the Republican National Convention.  In the 12 plus years since Forchion has become one of the most vocal, and recognized members of the the pro-pot movement, 13 states have passed medical marijuana laws. 

Forchion's NJWeedman video series, filmed from his shop and seen on his website at  http://www.libertybelltemple.com/Home.htm  and at YouTube.com, commands a following of viewers from around the world. He regularly updates his footage with vivid coverage of the happenings in his shop, including specials on the vast varietals of medicinal marijuana he is now able to serve up legally, daily to his patients.

See NJWeedman in his latest video manifesto at http://www.trentonian.com/video/video-jeff/?media=13993520 .

To explore the issues more, go to http://www.NJWeedman.com  and to purchase his book, "Public Enemy 420" go to https://www.createspace.com/3425534.

Killer Bud's Marijuana Prohibition Research Links

I have been an outspoken marijuana advocate for many years. I guess you could say my whole life I have wanted to be able to have the freedom to smoke a joint without being prejudiced against by law enforcement. As I have gotten older it has gotten to be more important to encourage, at the very least, legalized medical marijuana.

I have been in several car accidents where my head has ended up busting through a windshield. I have chronic back pain, but I still manage to do what I have to do to survive. I work hard all day, but afterwords I am usually on the couch imploring my fiancee to give me back massages.

I have done a lot of research through the years and have acquired some interesting websites that only steady my conviction to help end this unjust prohibition. Unfortunately the things I have learned have exposed things from the government that is less than honest. Honesty is something we should expect from our elected leaders. Especially when their dishonest policy ends up making millions of honest, non violent, Americans criminals.

It boggles my mind how racism and corporate greed had influenced this current situation we see today. If someone like Harry Jacob Anslinger, who held office as the Assistant Prohibition Commissioner in the Bureau of Prohibition, before being appointed as the first Commissioner of the Treasury Department's Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN) on August 12, 1930, if had said this kind of rhetoric today for justifying the creation for cannabis prohibition, he would of been quickly shut up and kicked out of public office.

Even though it was almost 80 years ago, Harry Anslinger is one of the main people responsible for causing the hysteria against marijuana on an national level.

Harry Anslinger is responsible for racial themes in articles against marijuana in the 1930s.

"There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the US, and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz and swing, result from marijuana usage. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers and any others."

"Colored students at the Univ. of Minn. partying with (white) female students, smoking [marijuana] and getting their sympathy with stories of racial persecution. Result: pregnancy"

This kind of rhetoric may have worked 80 years ago to create cannabis prohibition, but if he was to say something like that in present time he would not of become the leader of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics.

Yet what motivated him to say what he did exists to this very day in the form of cannabis prohibition.

Even a former president, Richard Nixon, used race to justify cannabis prohibition. The Freedom of Information Act uncovered tapes that were withheld for years by our government.  The Nixon White House tapes from 1971-1972 held conversations between President Nixon and a special "Blue Ribbon Commission" he made to evaluate the pros and cons of marijuana.

Unfortunately the "Blue Ribbon Commission" did not come out the way President Nixon had anticipated due to its pro marijuana outcome. He essentially buried the findings of the commission, and set out on his own personal crusade against marijuana and minorities.

• Jews and marijuana: "I see another thing in the news summary this morning about it. That's a funny thing, every one of the bastards that are out for legalizing marijuana is Jewish. What the Christ is the matter with the Jews, Bob, what is the matter with them? I suppose it's because most of them are psychiatrists . . ."
• Marijuana and the culture wars: "You see, homosexuality, dope, immorality in general. These are the enemies of strong societies. That's why the Communists and the left-wingers are pushing the stuff, they're trying to destroy us."
• Marijuana compared to alcohol: marijuana consumers smoke "to get high" while "a person drinks to have fun." Nixon also saw marijuana leading to loss of motivation and discipline but claimed: "At least with liquor I don't lose motivation."
• Marijuana and political dissent: ". . . radical demonstrators that were here . . . two weeks ago . . . They're all on drugs, virtually all."

• Drug education: "Enforce the law, you’ve got to scare them." 

It is from looking back and questioning things, that will make us reevaluate where we should go from now.

I am honestly surprised that a minority hasn't opposed marijuana prohibition under the context that the laws were created to enforce marijuana prohibition, purposefully focused on targeting Hispanics and African Americans with racist intent. From the President all the way down to your local police officer on the corner the government encouraged enforcement against minorities.

Basically the law against marijuana should be thrown out if the primary reason for creating it was to control minorities.

Since this can be easily proven, why couldn't this be used for the minorities as a defense?

If we were to take out the racism and fear mongering from the equation back in the 1930's all the way through to the president from the 1970's, would we still have this negative attitude towards marijuana in this day and time?

  

I have the links to back up my research. (Located on the bottom of my blog section.) It is an ongoing project and will grow over the years. That is unless our country finally decides to reform marijuana laws once and for all. 

Peace,

 

FOXNews.com - AP IMPACT: After 40 years, $1 trillion, US War on Drugs has failed to meet any of its goals

FOXNews.com - AP IMPACT: After 40 years, $1 trillion, US War on Drugs has failed to meet any of its goals

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Thumbs up for PA Senator Daylin Leach (D-17) on HB1393, The Compassionate Use Act,

According to an Examiner website post PA Senator Daylin Leach (D17) issued this statement:

"It's long past time we move beyond the misinformation and ancient wives' tales and allow people to have the medicine that will make them feel better. Medical Marijuana has been proven repeatedly to help people who are desperately ill. It is nothing more than gratuitous cruelty to deny it to them."

Here is the rest of the article. It also has some interesting video of Dr. Harold Swidler, at a hearing to explain the benefits of medical marijuana.  


Medical Marijuana To Be Introduced May 4th

I am an Independent voter, and I will never be confined to thinking about voting for any particular party line. I vote for who I hope will be the best person for the job.

I admittedly have certain pet peeves about prospective candidates. Such as mixing your religion into our politics. Keep the two fucking separate. Keep your prayers to yourself and take care of business.

That said I would be hard pressed to vote for someone with this type of ideology, however I would put prejudice aside and still possibly vote for you if you understood the compassionate consequences that would result from ending prohibition of marijuana.

I wish more politicians had the balls to say what Senator Daylin Leach said today in Pennsylvania.

Senator Daylin Leach is listening to the voice of the people he represents, and not throwing back redundant,outdated, anecdotes like so many other politicians do for the sake of playing it safe, and not pissing off their ultra conservative voters.

It's not a republican or a democrat thing, its just the right thing to do.

We do not have the same luxury in Florida though, no one running for high office at the moment is brave enough to push any sort of bill to legalize medicinal marijuana. At the rate we are going in this state we would probably be the last state in the union to ever get something passed. That really sucks big time...

Recently in my home state of Florida, a quadriplegic faces jail time for using medicinal marijuana.

 Check out this link from The St. Petersburg Times. They wrote a compelling story about this mans vital need for medicinal marijuana.

Quadriplegic Arrested for Using Medicinal Marijuana in Florida
John Haring has lived with the chronic pain since becoming a quadriplegic two decades ago. Then he found a way, he said, to ease his aching body, to lift his depression.

Now he's going to jail for it.

I really can not understand why he should be looking at going to jail, just because he is trying to do something to ease his pain.

He is going to end up on drug offender probation, and be subjected to monthly urinalysis until he completes however long his probation is. If he fails a piss test, he would end up violating his probation and more than likely going to prison.

This is just not right. I could never be a police officer if putting people like Jack Haring in jail was just "part of my job".

I expect the police to enforce laws, we need them to function in society. I just have a problem with them enforcing a law that so many people are opposed to.

On the side of my page is a link to a petition to get medicinal marijuana on the state ballot here in Florida.
I strongly encourage any Florida resident who can vote who reads this blog to click on that link and make a copy of the forms and mail them to PUFFM.

If the politicians want to drag their feet and make honest civilians criminals for possession of a plant. Then we will just have to get the signatures to pass it ourselves.

I really do not understand why at the moment they have only gotten around 10,000 signatures, but they still need almost 670,000 more to go.

We are trying really hard to get this petition approved for the ballot by 2012, and we need a lot of help to get there. So please even if you do not smoke marijuana support this endeavor anyways for people like Jack Haring, for all our elderly on chemo that need to gain weight so they can recover faster without feeling nauseous, and for other folks who are in pain and cant afford prescription pain killers.

Ed "NJ Weedman.com" Forchion Fighting for marijuana liberation: One toke at a time

I am pretty excited about getting an opportunity to interview NJ Weedman.com. He is an outspoken activist for ending the prohibition of marijuana. Outspoken to the point where his freedom was almost taken from him on numerous occasions. Sometimes all he has had to count on was just himself, and just his wits to overcome the odds stacked against him, and still he manages to come out on top.

NJ Weedman.com's story is about standing up for what you believe in, what you know deep down inside is right, and doing something about it.

If you would like to learn more about his past endeavors in his fight across the country for marijuana reform. Please go to his website or better yet pick up his book "Public Enemy 420"

NJ Weedman.com's knowledge of the law really comes through in it, and he explains how to make us more knowledgeable in defending ourselves against prosecution by the government for marijuana offenses. 

NJ Weedman.com explains in great detail on how to use an open advocation of JURY NULLIFICATION as a defense. A strategy that was similarly carried out in courts during the end of alcohol prohibition.

NJ Weedman.com's book is a useful tool and guide to being better informed, and knowing that there is something you can do about it.

NJ Weedman.com, is currently very active in the marijuana freedom movement. Lately he has been operating a medical marijuana dispensary in Hollywood, California, called Liberty Bell Temple, to fighting a legal battle for possession on the other side of the country in New Jersey. Considering his past endeavors in dealing with the system in New Jersey, using JURY NULLIFICATION, I'm sure he will come out on top this time too.

NJ Weedman's Theme Song mp3


Okay, so now I'd like to get this interview rolling, (pardon the pun) and ask NJ Weedman.com some questions.

(KB) Could you tell me a little back ground information of how Liberty Bell Temple came about?

(NJ Weedman.com) The Liberty Bell Temple is located at 5642 Hollywood, blvd., Hollywood Ca. I opened LBT in August 2008, naming it after a series of protest I did in Philadelphia at the Liberty Bell in 2003-04. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrGah9enZRQ 

It is the only Rastafarian Temple in Los Angeles, we are registered with the state as a “church/temple” and openly provide marijuana in compliance with prop 215 rules. We also provide marijuana to spiritual users.

The Freedom of Religion and Restoration Act of 1993 allows for the religious use of marijuana. Our temple is a religious facility and we provide marijuana to those who wish to use it.

(KB)  I was drooling a lot over some of the goodies you folks have at Liberty Bell Temple. From your fine selection of cannabis, to all the other different edible items. It is almost impossible for me living in Florida to imagine the freedom it must feel like to not have the weight on your shoulders of constantly looking over your back and getting busted. (Paranoia is such a buzz kill)

Could you describe what it is like for people in California to have the ability to enjoy marijuana without prejudice or harassment?

(NJ Weedman.com) It feels like FREEDOM to me, besides my use of marijuana I’m a pretty law abiding citizen. I don’t hurt anyone, never bother into other people’s lives and only wish to live and let live. Most of the time I have marijuana on me, like a tobacco addict has cigarettes on him. In a state like New Jersey the POLICE are always on a witch hunt for people like me. Just to leave my house, to drive on the highway or be in public is taking a risk on going to prison. The site of me may result in me in handcuffs in New Jersey. Not so in California. In California I don’t hide myself from the police and I carry my doctors note on me and don’t worry about the police.


(KB) If seems kind of strange how you can go from one state to another which has medicinal marijuana on the books, and laws could be so different, even contradictory. Do other states that have medicinal marijuana laws recognize cannabis prescriptions as valid from a different state?

(NJ Weedman.com) NO – as far as I know none of them respect each others marijuana laws.

(KB) Or do you have to get authorization from a Dr. in that state? (If so that's stupid)

(NJ Weedman) Yup, you get it. The laws are just stupid.

(KB) If I had a prescription of percocet, I could go to any other state and not have to worry about getting another prescription from a Dr,. matter of fact, I could see someone getting into trouble for doing that. It would be like Dr. hopping, but when your dealing with cannabis and the different state laws the legality seems a little fuzzy to me.

If you come from a state that legalizes medicinal cannabis, and you go to another state that has legalized it, they should respect the validity of your prescription and not get arrested.

(NJ Weedman.com) They should but they don’t. Ive detailed my opposition to New Jersey’s medical marijuana bill here:

http://njweedman.com/oppose_medical_marijuana_bill.html

(KB) In your situation in New Jersey, it seems like this kind of logic should apply and be worked out. Are you hoping to accomplish this with your case?

http://www.njweedman.com/challenge.html

(NJ Weedman.com) I hope that becomes a legal issue but Im hoping for a jury nullification verdict. I’m openly going to challenge my Jury to render a verdict inspite of the law. The law is wrong, based on lies and false facts. I wish to tell my jurors the truth about marijuana. I want to tell the jury that this law I’m charged with violating is wrong not I. The New Jersey Constitution specifically gives the jurors in criminal prosecutions the right to Judge the law as well as the facts. --- NJ Constitution ARTICLE I paragraph (6) -In all prosecutions …………, the truth may be given in evidence to the jury; ………. and the jury shall have the right to determine the law and the fact.

This is all I want to tell my jury the truth it is the Government and our politicians that lie about marijuana.

Hopefully more folks will become aware of how viable JURY NULLIFICATION can be in defending ourselves against marijuana prohibition laws.

 If you would like to purchase NJ Weedman.com's book "Public Enemy 420" then click on this link.

NJ Weedman's Public Enemy 420

Thanks NJ Weedman.com for taking the time for this interview. I wish you the best of luck with your case in New Jersey. Hopefully soon other folks wont have to go through what you have in the name of marijuana reform. In the meantime we need everyone to stand up and correct this unjust law, not just the few.