Edward Forchion walked to the front of a packed
municipal courtroom in Cherry Hill yesterday and
placed a small marijuana plant on a table. On the pot
was written, "Grown by God." Then he
returned to his seat. The judge hadn't arrived. The
astonished crowd didn't move. And for two or three
minutes, the plant sat there, a wild, green thing in
a room of suits and plastic desks, until
a police officer, smiling, took it away.
So began the latest chapter in Edward
"Rob" Forchion's strange quest to
win acceptance for his favorite herb.
In hopes of legalizing marijuana, he
has gotten his name on the ballot in November for
both Camden County freeholder and U.S. congress, even
as he sank deeper into trouble with the law. Forchion
appeared in court yesterday to plead not guilty to
possession of a controlled dangerous substance --
despite having openly smoked a joint in both the
Camden County Democratic headquarters and the office
of U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews. "I think the
whole drug war is a sham,"
Forchion said.
"I have done things that I
was embarrassed about, but not this. I always say, I
love my country, but I fear my government."
A former long haul trucker, the
Chesilhurst resident is unemployed and facing charges
that could jail him for 18 years. Most weeknights, he
parks his black van along a busy road, sets out
books, pamphlets and T-shirts and holds forth upon
the benefits of pot to anyone interested.
Sometimes the cops chase him out.
Sometimes they sit nearby. Sometimes they just wave.
Often motorists stop to chat with Forchion, he said.
Despite his legal troubles, hostility
from some cops and recently getting Maced in
Gloucester Township, Forchion claims he gets
enthusiastic support. No one who stops disagrees with
his contention that marijuana has medicinal uses.
Forchion claims it has helped ease his asthmatic
breathing. His van gets plenty of supportive honks
from the passing traffic. Not even the cops seem keen
to arrest him. But last year he got busted for
possession of marijuana in excess of 40 pounds.
For some politicians, political
careers end with criminal proceedings. Forchion hopes
to end his criminal proceedings by becoming a
politician. He hopes that acceptance of marijuana
use will void the charges against him. He will
run for office as the founder of the Legalize
Marijuana Party.
But Forchion was the first person
charged under New Jersey's recently toughened drug
law, signed last August, which made possession of
marijuana a far more serious offense than before.
With a stroke of the pen, Forchion said, Gov.
Christie Whitman made him a first degree felon.
He said younger cops give him a
harder time than older ones.
"The older cops have fought this
'drug war' for a long time, so they can distinguish
between marijuana and other drugs. The younger cops
are all graduates of DARE programs. They believe pot
is really dangerous."
"My daughters learn in school
that marijuana is a dangerous drug," added
Forchion, who doesn't smoke tobacco, drink or do
other drugs. "But they've seen me smoke
marijuana all their lives and they know it's not
true. What happens when the school tells them heroin
is a dangerous drug? Do they figure that's not true,
either? " No court date has been set for
Forchion's most recent arrest. But he looks forward
to a more important trial: when voters go to the
polls next fall.
"In November, you'll get an
idea of the numbers who are for this,"
Forchion said. "Just wait and see."
Contact Ed
Forchion
