420
Founder
The website of Ed "Weedman" Forchion may be on a list of favorites for state authorities.
Not long after Forchion posted a flyer on his site advertising a rally at the State Capital Building, which is planned for this afternoon, state police requested that he obtain a permit.
In an e-mail sent to the activist, Lt. Brian Crain of the State Police State House Complex Security Unit said troopers found out about Forchion's plan for today's march by monitoring his pro-marijuana website.
Crain said all groups of more than 10 "intending to gather/demonstrate at the State House must apply for a permit to gather." Forchion sent picture of his exposed backside in response to the Jersey trooper's warning.
"I'm not getting a permit," said Forchion. "All those permit laws should be unconstitutional ... No one asks Corzine or Forrester to get a permit and we supposedly live in a free country."
Forchion, who is running for governor as a candidate of the "Legalize Marijuana Party," plans to gather with his supporters today around noon at the Trenton Train Station and march to the State Capitol Building at 2 p.m. Once there, he plans to deliver a speech and close at 4:20 p.m. with a presentation in which he turns around and "give all politicians the finger."
The 41-year-old Pemberton activist called his gathering a peace rally said giving politicians the middle finger is his expression of displeasure. "I want to talk about ending the war on drugs," Forchion said. "What I'm doing is perfectly legal. I don't have to have a permit to walk down the street with a sign and the finger is not an obscene gesture. It's an F- you to the system."
Forchion said state authorities and officials have been making regular visits to his website, which he monitors through a return hit counter on his personal computer. State police, he said, have been watching him for years and are gearing up to give him a hassle today at his planned rally.
"We had seen a flyer he had distributed in the area," Crain said yesterday, explaining how troopers discovered the whereabouts of the marijuana activist's rally. "It was also posted on his website."
Crain said, according to regulations set by the joint management commission that oversees the complex, a group planning to gather for a vigil or other ceremony must apply for a permit 72 hours prior to the gathering. The group can obtain the permit, free of charge, through the state police.
As of yesterday Forchion did not request a permit from the state police. When Crain was questioned about whether or not the activist would be arrested, without the proper paperwork,he had no comment.
Forchion is running for governor as candidate with the "Legalize Marijuana Party." He attributes the majority of Trenton's violence to the war on drugs.
"I'm trying to spark a reefer revolution," he said. "The drug laws aren't working. It's a result of do-gooderism and it's causing more harm than good.
You have a right to free speech-- I remember that from the third grade."
Source: Trentonian, The (NJ)
Copyright: 2005 The Trentonian
Contact: editor@trentonian.com
Website: Trentonian
Not long after Forchion posted a flyer on his site advertising a rally at the State Capital Building, which is planned for this afternoon, state police requested that he obtain a permit.
In an e-mail sent to the activist, Lt. Brian Crain of the State Police State House Complex Security Unit said troopers found out about Forchion's plan for today's march by monitoring his pro-marijuana website.
Crain said all groups of more than 10 "intending to gather/demonstrate at the State House must apply for a permit to gather." Forchion sent picture of his exposed backside in response to the Jersey trooper's warning.
"I'm not getting a permit," said Forchion. "All those permit laws should be unconstitutional ... No one asks Corzine or Forrester to get a permit and we supposedly live in a free country."
Forchion, who is running for governor as a candidate of the "Legalize Marijuana Party," plans to gather with his supporters today around noon at the Trenton Train Station and march to the State Capitol Building at 2 p.m. Once there, he plans to deliver a speech and close at 4:20 p.m. with a presentation in which he turns around and "give all politicians the finger."
The 41-year-old Pemberton activist called his gathering a peace rally said giving politicians the middle finger is his expression of displeasure. "I want to talk about ending the war on drugs," Forchion said. "What I'm doing is perfectly legal. I don't have to have a permit to walk down the street with a sign and the finger is not an obscene gesture. It's an F- you to the system."
Forchion said state authorities and officials have been making regular visits to his website, which he monitors through a return hit counter on his personal computer. State police, he said, have been watching him for years and are gearing up to give him a hassle today at his planned rally.
"We had seen a flyer he had distributed in the area," Crain said yesterday, explaining how troopers discovered the whereabouts of the marijuana activist's rally. "It was also posted on his website."
Crain said, according to regulations set by the joint management commission that oversees the complex, a group planning to gather for a vigil or other ceremony must apply for a permit 72 hours prior to the gathering. The group can obtain the permit, free of charge, through the state police.
As of yesterday Forchion did not request a permit from the state police. When Crain was questioned about whether or not the activist would be arrested, without the proper paperwork,he had no comment.
Forchion is running for governor as candidate with the "Legalize Marijuana Party." He attributes the majority of Trenton's violence to the war on drugs.
"I'm trying to spark a reefer revolution," he said. "The drug laws aren't working. It's a result of do-gooderism and it's causing more harm than good.
You have a right to free speech-- I remember that from the third grade."
Source: Trentonian, The (NJ)
Copyright: 2005 The Trentonian
Contact: editor@trentonian.com
Website: Trentonian
