SmokeDog420
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MOUNT HOLLY, N.J. (AP) Robert Edward Forchion Jr. may be known as Weedman to the masses, but to the state government, he is still Robert Edward Forchion Jr.
His effort to get that changed -- a battle that hit a roadblock last week when a state appeals court ruled he cannot change his name to NJWeedman.com -- is just one of Forchion's many marijuana-related pursuits.
The other day, his multifaceted campaign to legalize marijuana took the laid-back, one-time Army medic to the sidewalk in front of a strip mall with a clipboard.
He asked passers-by to sign a petition to put him on the ballot for a November Congressional election and he found plenty of supporters.
"I have Lyme's disease and I think it helps me," said one 25-year-old Burlington City woman who didn't want her name published.
"I hope you can use the medicine of your choice," responded Forchion, who has been supporting himself on odd construction and web site design jobs since he was laid off last December as a window-washer. One way he doesn't raise money, he says, is selling marijuana.
Though he intends to appear on the November ballot as a candidate of the U.S. Marijuana Party and campaigns wearing a T-shirt with an image of a marijuana leaf, Forchion would rather not be called a marijuana activist. He prefers First Amendment activist (he says marijuana use is part of his Rastafarian faith and that he's been persecuted for exercising free speech) or, especially, dissident.
Besides his name-change effort, which he plans to appeal to the state Supreme Court and the Congressional run and a schedule of speaking at pro-pot rallies around the Northeast, he is suing cable giant Comcast, claiming the company is violating his rights by refusing to run what he says is a political advertisement.
Forchion said that at about 14 or 15, he and a cousin sneaked off from a family gathering and he smoked his first joint.
Now, he's 39 and not remotely shy about his habits.
He's lit up in the Statehouse in Trenton and does so monthly on federally owned land in Philadelphia near the Liberty Bell.
In 1997, he was arrested and charged with possession with intent to distribute more than 40 pounds of marijuana.
He pleaded guilty in 2000. But by the time he was sentenced, he first tried to withdraw his plea, then visited the Cuban embassy in Montreal to seek political asylum.
Forchion served 17 months of a 10-year prison sentence.
After he was released on parole, he filmed a pro-pot commercial. Authorities heard about it and sent him back to prison for violating terms of his parole. A federal judge ordered him released after five months, saying the arrest was an infringement of free speech.
Forchion, a former cross-country trucker, has run for a seat on the state Assembly, Camden County freeholder twice, Burlington County freeholder once and is making his third run for Congress. This time he's challenging Republican incumbent H. James Saxton, who probably does not ask citizens, as Forchion does, to "throw me a vote in November."
When Forchion first ran for office, he had his name listed on the ballot as Edward "Rob" Forchion.
It later struck to him that it might help with name recognition if the ballot said Edward "Weedman" Forchion. Election officials told him: They'd do it only if his name was legally changed to Weedman. Thus began the battle to become NJWeedman.com, also the name of his web site in the eyes of the law.
The Camden County Prosecutor's office has argued against the name change, reasoning that it would promote an illegal activity.
The name certainly promotes recognition.
"You're like the weed dude, ain't you," proclaimed James Blackston, 45, of Mount Holly, as he came upon Forchion. "Dang!"
Others approached him with reefer confessions: "Just so you know, I smoke too," one woman said. A man lamented that he's cut back since his employer began random drug tests. One woman told Weedman she had no such concerns; her boss sells her marijuana. Another said she supported his platform and added that she was looking for "stress relief."
That happens all the time, Forchion said.
"I'm the Weedman. I'm everybody's buddy," he explained. "I'm not the coke man or the heroin man."
Petitions in hand, Forchion walked off toward the courthouse in Mount Holly. He was going there, ironically, to fight for his name.
His ex-girlfriend wants to change their 9-year-old daughter's last name.
Forchion, the woman argues, is too closely associated with Weedman's politics and could bring the girl ridicule.
His effort to get that changed -- a battle that hit a roadblock last week when a state appeals court ruled he cannot change his name to NJWeedman.com -- is just one of Forchion's many marijuana-related pursuits.
The other day, his multifaceted campaign to legalize marijuana took the laid-back, one-time Army medic to the sidewalk in front of a strip mall with a clipboard.
He asked passers-by to sign a petition to put him on the ballot for a November Congressional election and he found plenty of supporters.
"I have Lyme's disease and I think it helps me," said one 25-year-old Burlington City woman who didn't want her name published.
"I hope you can use the medicine of your choice," responded Forchion, who has been supporting himself on odd construction and web site design jobs since he was laid off last December as a window-washer. One way he doesn't raise money, he says, is selling marijuana.
Though he intends to appear on the November ballot as a candidate of the U.S. Marijuana Party and campaigns wearing a T-shirt with an image of a marijuana leaf, Forchion would rather not be called a marijuana activist. He prefers First Amendment activist (he says marijuana use is part of his Rastafarian faith and that he's been persecuted for exercising free speech) or, especially, dissident.
Besides his name-change effort, which he plans to appeal to the state Supreme Court and the Congressional run and a schedule of speaking at pro-pot rallies around the Northeast, he is suing cable giant Comcast, claiming the company is violating his rights by refusing to run what he says is a political advertisement.
Forchion said that at about 14 or 15, he and a cousin sneaked off from a family gathering and he smoked his first joint.
Now, he's 39 and not remotely shy about his habits.
He's lit up in the Statehouse in Trenton and does so monthly on federally owned land in Philadelphia near the Liberty Bell.
In 1997, he was arrested and charged with possession with intent to distribute more than 40 pounds of marijuana.
He pleaded guilty in 2000. But by the time he was sentenced, he first tried to withdraw his plea, then visited the Cuban embassy in Montreal to seek political asylum.
Forchion served 17 months of a 10-year prison sentence.
After he was released on parole, he filmed a pro-pot commercial. Authorities heard about it and sent him back to prison for violating terms of his parole. A federal judge ordered him released after five months, saying the arrest was an infringement of free speech.
Forchion, a former cross-country trucker, has run for a seat on the state Assembly, Camden County freeholder twice, Burlington County freeholder once and is making his third run for Congress. This time he's challenging Republican incumbent H. James Saxton, who probably does not ask citizens, as Forchion does, to "throw me a vote in November."
When Forchion first ran for office, he had his name listed on the ballot as Edward "Rob" Forchion.
It later struck to him that it might help with name recognition if the ballot said Edward "Weedman" Forchion. Election officials told him: They'd do it only if his name was legally changed to Weedman. Thus began the battle to become NJWeedman.com, also the name of his web site in the eyes of the law.
The Camden County Prosecutor's office has argued against the name change, reasoning that it would promote an illegal activity.
The name certainly promotes recognition.
"You're like the weed dude, ain't you," proclaimed James Blackston, 45, of Mount Holly, as he came upon Forchion. "Dang!"
Others approached him with reefer confessions: "Just so you know, I smoke too," one woman said. A man lamented that he's cut back since his employer began random drug tests. One woman told Weedman she had no such concerns; her boss sells her marijuana. Another said she supported his platform and added that she was looking for "stress relief."
That happens all the time, Forchion said.
"I'm the Weedman. I'm everybody's buddy," he explained. "I'm not the coke man or the heroin man."
Petitions in hand, Forchion walked off toward the courthouse in Mount Holly. He was going there, ironically, to fight for his name.
His ex-girlfriend wants to change their 9-year-old daughter's last name.
Forchion, the woman argues, is too closely associated with Weedman's politics and could bring the girl ridicule.
