"WE NEED DISSENT"

Frank Orland and Ed Forchion might not be from powerful political parties, but they've got the ideas and initiative to run against them.

Orland, an 83-year-old psychiatrist from Cherry Hill, and Forchion, a 40-year-old free-speech activist from Pemberton, are running against incumbent Jim Saxton, R-N.J., and his Democratic challenger Herb Conaway in the upcoming 3rd Congressional District election.

Orland is running for the Libertarian Party, which favors limiting the size and scope of the federal government, a free-market society, the value of individual liberties and responsibility for one's actions. If you think that sounds similar to Republican philosophy, you're right - in theory, according to Orland, but not in practice.

"The Republicans in the last four years have actually increased government spending," said Orland.

Orland also said the Libertarian Party differs from the Republicans in their stance on the Patriot Act.

"I think the government is using a crisis in order to infringe on our liberties," said Orland.

Orland believes major reforms are needed for social security, health care and malpractice insurance.

For social security, he advocates phasing in the creation of individual, private, tax-free retirement accounts with annuity companies set up for the purpose of investing in ultra-secure AAA bonds. The account would then be allowed to compound itself tax-free over the years, and the eventual benefits would be tax-free as well, according to the plan.

"The percentage of your taxes that goes to social security right now goes to the government, it goes into a pot," said Orland. "With my plan, that's your money; it's in your name."

Similarly, to make health care accessible, comprehensive and affordable, Orland advocates the creation of individual medical savings accounts for outpatient services only. Here, Orland said, everyone would have a certain amount of money they could spend per year on whatever medical services they need. Any money not used, Orland said, would carry over to the following year.

Under this plan, Orland said, individuals would have more freedom choosing doctors, which would inspire competition and drive prices for medical services down - a basic example, Orland said, of the free market society espoused by the Libertarian Party.

To keep malpractice insurance from "driving doctors out of medicine and out of New Jersey," Orland would like to follow California's example in capping "pain and suffering" damages at $250,000.

Orland also believes small businesses should be able to form their own health associations to seek medical contracts with large doctor groups.

"They would have purchasing power to negotiate for lower fees," said Orland. "Each family should have the freedom to choose whichever health care items they wish for their family. There are some insurance policies that mandate there should be reconstructive services for after a mastectomy. What does a young male need with that provision? It's just driving up the premiums."

Ed Forchion, or the New Jersey Weedman, as he is popularly called - he tried unsuccessfully to change his name to his Web site domain name, njweedman.com - is running for the U.S Marijuana Party. He considers himself a free speech activist.

"I've been on a crusade since 1997 to change the laws that ruined my life," said Forchion, who was arrested with 40 pounds of marijuana in 1997. For that he served 16 months of a ten-year sentence. "All for a harmless substance. Four joints or forty pounds, it makes no difference to me."

For Forchion, smoking marijuana goes hand-in-hand with free speech. Each month, he openly smokes marijuana at the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, exploiting, or rather, "driving a truck through," what he says is a loophole in a law allowing religious use of marijuana on federal property - a loophole he admits was intended for Native Americans.

Forchion is a Rastafarian, a member of a Jamaican religion that uses marijuana as a religious sacrament.

But not all of Forchion's political views fall in line with the stereotypical idea of the subversive activist.

"I actually, generally, fall into conservative categories," said Forchion. "Like abortion - I see it for what it is, murder."

Forchion disagrees with Saxton on the Iraq issue.

"I'm absolutely opposed to the war in Iraq, which Saxton is for," said Forchion. "It's a crusade for Bush and the fundamentalist right. Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. Bin Laden is a wahhabist, into the religious argument; Saddam was a secularist. He was a nationalist, but not a terrorist."

Like Orland, Forchion, who characterizes his current occupation as a "marijuana provider," disagrees with the Patriot Act, which he says has "taken away more freedom than any terrorist."

Forchion also would support a nation-wide needle exchange program, which he thinks would curtail the spread of AIDS.

"It's the smart thing to do, but these Christian fundamentalists are opposed to it," said Forchion.

Forchion believes candidates like himself and Orland supply a valuable service to American democracy.

"The way I look at it, the Democrats and Republicans are the same thing," said Forchion. "One's stealing out of your right pocket and the other your left. We need third party candidates. We need dissent."