Listen to  ED FORCHION-1999 Election night interveiw While your here, after the music goes off.

My father (I call him Daddy still) was a part of my life my whole life, and my mother (Mommy) is like the queen of the world to me. She is the sterotyped strong black women, like MOMMA in the movie BIG MOMMA . We were all raised with a good sense of right and wrong.  Family has always meant a lot to me, I feel, I come from a great family and will always be part of this great family. The thought of spending 30 years in prison fo marijuana is absurd. Both of my parents taught us to abide by the law and be good citizens. I have generally abided by the laws, except the marijuana laws. Which I feel are wrong. The marijuana laws are just racist lie's. I think I'm a very good citizens caught up in a bad law.. The law is wrong when it comes to marijuana or the whole "WAR on Drugs" for that matter. This is my body, me putting marijuana into my body is my choice. If I and a few friends decided to sit around watching the ball game smoking marijuana instead of drinking alcohol (one of the government drugs)  that's my choice. If I have decided to practice a particular religion, or accept it's beliefs and practice's that again is my choice. 

   The first amendment and it's free exercise clause is supposed to protect me too. I never was a straight "A" student but in a way I was always a nerd.  I always read, I still read a lot.  I have always read about freedom and the constitution, mainly because of how my parents related these things to me about the civil rights movement of the 60's. The great history and pride of this great county stuck. I really believed in it. "Is that my problem, I believed that I was free". That's why I'm fighting for my life as hard as I can. My life is important to me, I'm important to my family, too my children and in no-way will spenting 30 years in prison solve anything.

This whole "WAR" on drugs has always been a violation of the Bill of Rights to me. Where in the US or NJ Constitutions does either Constitution give congress or the states the right to regulate a citizens own body. The thought would have made the founders cringe. It's such a un-American thought, it amazes me so many people say nothing as our Government (Republicans-Democrats) wage a war against the citizens of this country. The Government is trying to prevent us from ingesting what we want. How is this country still is considered a free country when we can't even eat, drink, or smoke what we want. The government regulates what you can ingest or not ingest. That is not freedom to me. And the worst part of that is the government flat-out lie's about marijuana, marijuana is good!

WHY DOES THE GOVERNMENT HAVE TO LIE ABOUT MARIJUANA IN ATTEMPING TO STOP PEOPLE FROM USING IT. IN MY OPINION IT'S NOTHING BUT AN EXTENSION OF CHRISTIAN SUPERSTITIONS
 

   A victim of my governments ridiculous "WAR ON MARIJUANA" Updated on New Years day Jan 1, 2000.

 (Written Dec 97)

To accurately explain how this came to be, we've got to turn the clock back about 60 years.
 

1935: Marijuana is used by member's of the African and Mexican communities, with little trouble or notice from the European people who control and run just about every aspect of life in America. Then the hemp shucking machine is invented at the same time plastic and other synthetic product's are being patented. Marijuana and hemp is the same plant. This machine is seen by some as the COTTON GIN of hemp. In the 1820's with the advent of the cotton gin, cotton became the principle textile produced by this country, directly leading to this countries emergence as a world power both militarily and finacinally. It also encouraged the use of slaves to produce more and more cotton products, but that's another story.

The big industrialist of this country, like Mr. Dupont (chemicial/petroluem) and Mr Mellon (banking), Mr Heast (Timber/newspapers) saw the advent of the hemp shucking machine as a threat to thier new patent's on Plastic, Paper, Nylon, etc., etc., and they set about a plan to protect their investments by stopping the use of hemp/cannabis. The method was racism. Hemp/cannabis was a natural competitor, the plan was to eliminate the competition. They had invested heavily in the new petroleum products, as well as the timber industry, and hemp was much easier, & cheaper to produce source. You could grow, acre's and acre's of hemp several times a year on the same plot of land that took 15 years to grow a mature tree. They had to protect their investment.

For over 5000 years people of color had used marijuana for spiritual and medical use's. Marijuana was used as a stimulant by people of color in much the same way EUROPEANs used alcohol. Marijuana doesn't grow naturally in EUROPE. By and large white people just didn't know much about marijuana until the 1960's. In 1494 POPE INNOCENT 11V in a religious decree banned the use of CANNABIS further denying europeans the knowledge of marijuana goodness. The pope called cannabis, "SATAN'S HERB, THE DEVIL'S WEED", and to this day many catholic's/christians still attempt to label cannabis a sinful herb!

These industrialist Hearst, Dupont, Mellon devised a plan that to this day is still being carried out by unknowing fools. Mr Mellon had his nephew Harry Anglinger appointed to a new US agency - The Narcotic's Department. Harry Angslinger created a unfounded hysteria by calling cannabis "marijuana" and claiming it was a new menace to america's youth. Marijuana was the mexican word for cannabis/hemp. Angslinger cliamed marijuana caused white women to crave "NEGROES", made male negroe's brave and confrontational with white's.

Willian Heast played his part in protecting his timber/paper investments by routining publishing false stories about marijuana thoughout his newspaper empire. Heast Newspaper's often ran stories depicting the user's of marijuana as "crazed or deranged". Made false claims that marijuana was the great evil emerging in this country, called marijuana "The Nigger Weed". - PROPAGANDA MOVIE'S like "REEFER MADNESS" were produced to scare the white people of this country. Again up to this point, in this country only blacks & mexican's (people of color) used "marijuana".

In 1937 Anglinger called for a PROHIBITION of "marijuana", using racism as a tool. On April 26th, 1937 the greatest JIM CROW law ever enacted in this country was passed into law. Angslinger used RACISM to get "marijuana made illegal". The (AMA)-American Medicial Association was the only organization to protest, stating they didn't know that the "marijuana" that had been publicized so much in the year before was actually "hemp-cannabis". Blacks, mexicans were arrested for using it. Marijuana wasn't made totally illegal then as many people think, it was just taxed and made very inconveint to have.

Dr.s were arrested for prescibing it, even though marijuana was used for Asthma, Depression, pain, and a myraid of other ailments. In 1938, the cosmetic act was passed that was to grandfather in marijuana as a "old drug" that didn't need to conform to modern standards.

To this day blacks and people of color are still the most widely arrested group for using marijuana. - The marijuana laws are nothing but racist laws now. (see this) - These laws were originally just a method of keeping a few rich white dude's rich but now they are used by several aspects of the white community to enrich themselve's.

THE LEGAL PROFESSION, both prosecution and defense.

THE PRISON INDUSTRY - more people are in prison for marijuan charges than anything else. More people have their parole or probation's violated than for anything else.

TOWN BUDGETS - yes, sometowns count on a certain number of marijuana arrest to supliment the towns budget.

POLICE AGENCIES - confiscate property, cash, car's

ALL THIS IS DONE BASED ON LIE'S - (lie's started by a few old white dude's who wanted a few more bucks. Look at the misery and destruction the marijuana laws have caused this nation. Yet, white people generally still believe these lie's, or look the other way because it doesn't affect them directly.

IN 1970 the (CDS) The Controlled Substance Act was passed, this act made even the use of marijuana as a medicine illegal. This was the law that classified marijuana as a schedule 1 drug. -"having no value in the US"

I could go into this some more, but for now I'll leave it at that.

How does all this lead up to me being persecuted. Well again you have to go back in time a little (1979) . - You have to know how I got to the point where I just totally refuse to accept the marijuana laws.

1979::  I'm a 14 year old ASTHMATIC, going through normal teenage peer pressure. Most of my friends smoke cigarettes after school, during school, or when ever adults aren't around much like teens do today, despite so-called education and settlements. "I tried to smoke my first cigarette at 10, taking a but out of my Dadies ashtray". Smoking was the in thing to do as a kid back then, the tobacco companies where still denying that tobacco was dangerous, there wasn't much of a anti-tobacco coalition. For some reason the kids at  Edgewood Junior High School (ATCO NJ) where really into smoking, between classes as a social thing. It was a click setter.

This scene was repeated daily in junior highs across the country, it hasn't changed. Smoking was really the "in thing to do" amongst the popular crowd, which most normal kids wanted to be a part of. Tobacco is the government sanctioned drug so it is prevalent. It is sold everywhere. Taxes are collected on it, and again rich white guy's get richer, and richer off of it. The biggest drug dealer's there are, are the CEO's of the US tobacco industry, followed by the CEO's of the US alcohol industry- who by the way also are the leading contributors to the "WAR" effort by our government to prevent individuals from using drugs that compete with these legalized drug dealing corporations. (Sound familar)

I was 14 with asthma and routinuely trying to smoke tobacco just to fit in!

"we just want to fit in."

  They fearconstantly fear LUNG CANCER, I feared the POLICE. This is the only reason I'm glad I had asthma, if it weren't for my asthma I probably would also be addicted to tobacco. Back then it was a different story, many asthmatic children develop a sense of "why me", and regard themselves as inadequate. (Depression)I was one of these kids. I was just as fast, big and strong as the other kids but I couldn't breath right so I couldn't participate in many activities or had to quit in the middle of them. In addition to carrying around my inhaler's which side-effects I thought nearly killed me at times. I still tried to smoke cigarette's several times, but my asthma kicked in each time and knocked the idea out of my head with fits of coughing & wheezing. But you know 14 year olds and peer pressure, both "persistent". My Asthma, and my problems dealing with it I believe is the original source of my depression problems, which BTW I still treat with marijuana, occasionally if at all.

Sometimes I can admit to now, I used to complain when it didn't even bother me, but that's a whole different story. My father is a very responsible man and I love my Dad, and always respected him. Too this day my only real compliant about my Dad I have was his smoking around us (especially in the car) when we were kids. To this day, that is why I don't smoke ( Marijuana ) around my kids.

     After the obligatory hello's to everyone me and my cousin xxxxx are off to the basketball courts, As all Dr.J wanna be's did asthmatic or not! Xxxxxx a year older than me. We play basketball at penny packer park for a while until I can't play anymore because of the asthma. We hook up with some of his friends from the park and walk back towards his house.

Then someone pulls out a "FATTY", now that I look back on it, it was probably just a lousy rolled joint that made it look so big! As it is being passed around,  I on purpose keep changing my position in the group, to keep the joint from being passed to me. Inevitably though, "you know 14-15 year olds", soon I'm being teased for not trying the joint. I admit I was weak, but I'm glad I was. I take a drag, fully expecting to go into the usual coughing fits (like tobacco) but nothing, NO COUGHING, NOTHING! What! I had to try it again this time I take a real deep drag, fully expecting to go into the usual coughing fit, but no, sure enough nothing. Unreal! I can smoke, that's how I thought of it. You know how good it felt just to be able to fit in. As a 14 year old I knew right then and there that somebody had lied to me about the DANGERS of marijuana. Within minutes I was high, and I loved it, it wasn't anything like I was "MIS-LEAD" to believe marijuana did to you. This was good to me. ( WHY IS IT AGAINST THE LAW TO FEEL GOOD? ) And I could breath like no other time I can remember, except immediately after taking primatine mist or one of the other prescribed asthma inhaler's I had used. (before the side-effects kick in)

     Up to that point whenever I couldn't calm my asthmatic wheezing down, naturally, by stopping all activity. I had my inhaler's in my pocket "like VISA" I never left home without it. They worked, I can't say they didn't but with a cost. The inhaler's always opened my airways, but usually they made me dizzy, light headed, and sometimes I would even throw up. I used my inhalers as a last resort which in itself was dangerous. There were times I refused to take the inhaler's, forcing my parents to take me to West Jersey hospital (Berlin NJ) for epinephrine shots. " How many kids do you know who want shots"? Just look on the side of all inhaler's they tell you the dangerous side effects, I know them I experienced
them. To me they aren't statistic's they were real. The shot was always quicker with no side effects. The side effects of medical marijuana are pleasurable, which also is a reason to do it. To many of people who read this they will think this is absurd how does smoke of any kind help with breathing. I'm not a Doctor, but marijuana is a known broncilater, and was used as such for hundreds of years. Until 1937, when those old White dude's in Congress created this prohibition.

ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS LOOK UP THE FACTS.

     At the time this was incredible to me, as a 14 year old I was thinking I found a cure to asthma. The problem was how do I explain how I knew? I remember the ride home that day too, it was interesting , I wasn't coughing or complaining about my Dad's tobacco cigarettes. I even remember him asking what was wrong. I was too quiet. Actually I was mellow! At that point "BAM" paranoia struck. I was panic stricken with the thought that my Dad knew something, or worst yet that I was high. He didn't. As all "POTHEADS" know sometimes, especially when your young, or a new user, mild paranoia is common. Remember this was my first time so the one hour of paranoia ruined the three hours of mellow delight that the high gave me. Even though I had the opportunity to smoke again soon after, I didn't just because of the "NOIDS" I experienced that first time. I soon got over it. I rarely get them now, occasionally I will experience a little anxiety around police.

      It was several months later, mischief day- Oct 30th, that me and two of my best friends cut school with some girls. Out pops the weed, this time I didn't hesitate. The three of us were like the sickly crew. Me and Arnold (fake name) had asthma and Newton (Fake-name) had sickle cell anemia. Arnold being asthmatic too confirmed what I had felt a couple of months before he said, marijuana helped his asthma too. Newton also said it helped with his chronic joint pain from his sickle cell. Back then there wasn't much information available to support what we discovered but that wasn't really what we were after at that time anyway. We enjoyed the high. But how is it that three teenager's knew marijuana wasn't what the government said it was, because the government was lying!. 

  Something was wrong with what we were being told, teacher's the FDA, and the DEA as well as our parents told us marijuana was dangerous and bad BULLSHIT! Marijuana is a natural medicine, that produce's a enjoyable high as a side effect. This effect was much better than the side effects of  the legal drugs I had been prescribed. I enjoy this feeling and see nothing wrong with obtaining this feeling even if I'm not sick.