"MY ORGAN (Penis) is for rent also"
P.S. -- Prostitution  should be legal too, so if any women wants to pay me for service's I'd be happy to take your cash. My only 5 requirements you be a female, pay in cash, you be disease free & I wear a condom, and I perform no oral. (That's my version of safe sex)

So far very few women have taken me up on my blatent promotion of Male prostitution on the Internet. I'm even surprised that the State Police (Idiots) who try to regulate our bodies and enforce so-called morality haven't arrested me yet, for prostitution. I'm for real!

  Oct 99 - Atlantic City Press Story ( Commercials )

  I briefly thought of doing a "McVeigh", the Camden County Prosecutors Office is my more vulnerable than the Federal Building in Oklahoma City. On Dec., 19th 1997 just 3 weeks after I was arrested the Dea petitioned the (HHS) Health and Human Service's department to reschedule Marijuana to it's appropriate schedule.

But instead in keeping with my peaceful self. I turned to the internet, and the Constitution for help in saving I and I's family" . I know though-out history the only way major change has ever happened in this country is thru BLOOD-shed, but I surely don't want to bleed and don't want to make anyone else. In fact this is probably one of the reason's marijuana user's are so persecuted, were to peaceful!

   A lot of people think I'm going to prison for a long time. If so a jury will have to put me there. I want a jury to decide if what I did, nothing- was wrong.  I should go to prison for twenty years. John T Wynne the Asst Prosecutor, has already indicated he will object to every attempt I make to introduce JURY NULLIFICATION to my jury. I don't believe in Camden County a overwhelmingly democratic county that 12 people will unanimously agree that marijuana isn't a medicine or is dangerous. I will ask them if anybody should go to jail for marijuana. I'm going to be openly advocating JURY NULLIFICATION, I will be click here  begging the jury to ignore the law and acquit the law is wrong.  I'm the first person charged under this silly law, so the state will try to make an example out of me, and I will try to challenge the law itself. Because the law is new, it is subject to constitutional challenge's. One of the reasons in 1998 I ran for office (CONGRESS and County FREEHOLDER) was for my potential jurors to hear me and my issue's. Maybe one of the 3200 citizens that voted for me will be picked for my jury, maybe they will keep their mouth shut and acquit. I only need one. This year 1999 I again have gotten onto the Nov. ballot for both NJ State assembly (8th dist) and again Camden County Freeholder. 

  I LOVE MY COUNTRY, BUT FEAR MY GOVERNMENT!

ACCORDING TO THE US SUPREME COURTS MIRANDA DECISION, anything a defendant say's and does can and will be used against him at trial. -- Knowing this I made a point of saying and doing things in public. Click on the link below to see some of the stories. I wished to present all of these issue's to my jury, by using the miranda decision to my advantage. - See Miranda

TRIAL COVERAGE

Marijuana advocate readies for his trial
http://www.phillynews.com/content/inquirer/2000/09/19/south_jersey/jforchion19.htm
Despite a judge's order, Edward Forchion plans to bring up jury nullification. Jury selection is to begin today.

Barred from trying to convince a jury that the government's marijuana laws are unconstitutional, Edward Forchion - an advocate for the legalization of marijuana who is to go on trial this week on a charge of conspiracy to distribute 40 pounds of cannabis - has vowed to press on anyway.

Yesterday, Judge Stephen Thompson of Camden County Superior Court reaffirmed another judge's ruling to bar Forchion from introducing the concept of jury nullification to his jury.

John Wynne, assistant prosecutor, successfully argued that, although a jury has the power to nullify a law, the right should not be advertised.

Jury selection is to start today for Forchion, 36, of Browns Mills, in a case that stems from a 1997 arrest in Bellmawr. If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in state prison. He has been out on bail since his arrest.

He said yesterday that he would try to use jury nullification despite the judge's order.

"This is a nightmare for me," Forchion said. "I'm hoping I get a jury that understands and sees how ridiculous these laws are."

Police say Forchion and his brother, Russell, arranged for a large shipment of marijuana from Arizona to the Bellmawr Industrial Park. Eric Poole, who signed for the Federal Express delivery, also was arrested. Poole and Russell Forchion pleaded guilty to lesser charges and served short sentences.

According to court documents, Russell Forchion testified that he and his brother had helped arrange the delivery.

Edward Forchion, who used to maintain an apartment in Tucson, Ariz., when he was a cross-country truck driver, said that he had no part in arranging the shipment and that he had never sold drugs.

In the past, he has acknowledged doing some eccentric things to make his point that marijuana laws are unjust. Calling himself "NJweedman," he has fired up marijuana cigarettes in the chambers of the state legislature, in front of the Liberty Bell, and in the offices of U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews (D., N.J.).

He also has entered politics and is running for Burlington County freeholder and the First District congressional seat on the issue of changing marijuana laws. Forchion said he equated laws on drugs to statutes that affirmed slavery.

"I know the truth," he said. "It's a stupid law, so I plan on continuing to openly advocate marijuana."

He said he took satisfaction in the fact that a few elected officials have begun talking about the need to decriminalize marijuana, among them independent Gov. Jesse Ventura in Minnesota and Republican Gov. Gary Johnson in New Mexico.

On a personal level, Forchion, who is a Rastafarian, said marijuana laws violated his freedom of religion. He said smoking marijuana played an important role in his worship.

Beyond religious grounds, Forchion said, it is wrong to criminalize marijuana when other drugs, such as alcohol and tobacco, are legal.

"The difference is tobacco is the product of rich, white men, and so it goes untouched by the government," he said.

--
Marijuana maverick begins defense at trial
http://www.phillynews.com/content/inquirer/2000/09/20/south_jersey/jforchion20.htm
Edward Forchion, accused in a 40-pound drug deal, said he was like Rosa Parks. He refused a plea offer.

By Aamer Madhani
INQUIRER SUBURBAN STAFF

With an opening statement in which he compared himself to Rosa Parks and discounted the merits of marijuana laws, Edward Forchion - a self-described eccentric advocate of legalizing cannabis - began his defense yesterday against charges that he conspired to distribute 40 pounds of marijuana.

The first day of Forchion's trial in Camden County Superior Court started with a juror's being excused after a teary episode. She told the judge that she could not be part of a decision in the case, according to Forchion.

Forchion, 36, of Browns Mills, told the jury that he had smoked marijuana in the morning as well as at lunch. After the proceedings, he showed reporters a marijuana cigarette that he had in the front pocket of his jacket.

Forchion, acting as his own counsel with lawyer Jaime Kaigh of Cherry Hill advising, wore a khaki summer suit and T-shirt with a marijuana theme that bore the message, "I love my country; I fear my government." He told the jury that when Parks refused to give up her seat on a segregated bus in Alabama in 1955, she disobeyed the law because it was the right thing to do - and that he, too, was a pioneer for what was right.

He turned down a last-minute plea offer from John Wynne, a Camden County assistant prosecutor, even though his wife, a cousin and Kaigh urged that he accept it.

Under Wynne's offer, Forchion would have been eligible for parole after 33 months. If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in state prison.

In his opening statement, Forchion asked the jury to invoke its power to nullify the law under which he was charged - even though two Superior Court judges had affirmed the prosecution's request that he not be allowed to advertise the concept.

As Forchion was finishing his statement, he said he was surprised that Wynne had not objected to his bringing up the nullification power.

Judge Stephen W. Thompson interjected, "So am I."

Wynne declined to comment.

Forchion is accused of hooking up his younger brother, Russell, with a marijuana supplier in Arizona in October 1997. The supplier was to sell Russell Forchion about 40 pounds of marijuana for $20,000, authorities said.

The shipment was delivered to the Bellmawr Industrial Park via Federal Express.

Shortly after picking up the marijuana, Russell Forchion was arrested as he drove away from the laboratories, authorities said. His brother, who was driving behind him, was also arrested.

Russell Forchion pleaded guilty to a lesser charge in 1998 and agreed to testify against his brother.

Russell Forchion testified reluctantly yesterday, changing his earlier statements to police and earlier testimony that he had bought his brother a plane ticket to Arizona to broker the deal, and that his brother had arranged the hook-up.

"All I said is that he went to Arizona, and [another man] made the arrangements," Russell Forchion said.

Edward Forchion said that he had flown to Arizona to visit his girlfriend, who was pregnant with his child at the time.

When the package did not arrive on the day it was supposed to, Edward Forchion said, he advised his brother not to pick it up because police had likely caught on to the plan.

Forchion, who has been out on bail since his arrest, is running for Burlington County freeholder and for the First District seat in the U.S. House on the Legalize Marijuana ticket.

----

Marijuana maven accepts plea agreement 'for my kids'
http://www.phillynews.com/content/inquirer/2000/09/21/south_jersey/jforchion21.htm

The legalization advocate conceded his role in a drug deal. He got a light term and time to talk with jurors.

By Aamer Madhani
INQUIRER SUBURBAN STAFF

After refusing several plea offers that he said would compromise his principles, a South Jersey advocate for legalizing marijuana agreed yesterday to a lesser charge.

In exchange for a light sentence and one more chance to address the jurors, he admitted to introducing two parties to a $20,000 cannabis deal. Yesterday would have been the second day of his trial.

"I did it for my kids," Edward Forchion said of the plea agreement as he left Camden County Superior Court yesterday. "But I still believe what I believe."

Forchion, 36, of Browns Mills, is a candidate for the U.S. House and the Burlington County Board of Freeholders on the Legalize Marijuana ticket.

He was brought to trial on charges of conspiring to distribute more than 25 pounds of cannabis - specifically, 40 pounds of marijuana from an Arizona deal. Had he been convicted, Forchion faced up to 20 years in prison.

Instead, he pleaded guilty to possession with the intent to distribute and conspiracy to distribute more than five pounds of marijuana, both second-degree offenses, and could spend as little as six months in prison.

Once released, he could be tested for drugs at any time, said his legal adviser, Jaime Kaigh. Forchion acted as his own attorney during the proceedings.

Forchion said he had a difficult time accepting the plea and did not make a final decision until arriving at the Camden County Hall of Justice yesterday morning.

A Rastafarian, he said he smoked marijuana for religious reasons, to relieve back pain, and to help him deal with chronic depression. Since the mid-1990s, Forchion, a former cross-country truck driver, has been an outspoken advocate of legalizing marijuana, and he acknowledges that he has done some outlandish things in an attempt to get his point across.

He has been cited for lighting marijuana cigarettes in the legislature's chambers and the office of U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews. He told the jury during his opening statement Tuesday afternoon that he had smoked marijuana before coming to court that morning and had smoked again during the lunch break.

Forchion acknowledged in court yesterday that he had introduced his brother, Russell, to a marijuana supplier in Arizona and had flown to Tucson on behalf of his brother in October 1997 to seal the sale of the marijuana.

The shipment was delivered to the Bellmawr Industrial Park via Federal Express.

Shortly after picking up the marijuana, Russell Forchion was arrested as he drove away from the laboratories, authorities said. His brother, who was driving behind him, was also arrested.

A third man, Eric Poole, who signed for the package, was convicted of a lesser crime. Russell Forchion, who had agreed to testify for the prosecution, served about five months in prison before being placed on intensive supervisory parole.

Edward Forchion is free on $65,000 bail until his sentencing on Dec. 1.

Before the proceedings began Tuesday, Assistant Prosecutor John Wynne offered Forchion a deal in which he would have spent 33 months in jail. On Tuesday night, Wynne called Kaigh and offered Forchion a sentence in which he might have to serve only six months in prison and then be placed on intensive supervisory parole.

Wynne said he thought the sentence was just, considering that Forchion had a lesser role in the conspiracy than his brother.

Forchion's defense strategy was to persuade the jury to invoke its power of nullification, by which a jury can set aside the law out of sympathy for a defendant. He pursued that strategy even though two Superior Court judges had affirmed the prosecutor's argument that the concept of nullification, although available for a jury's use, should not be advertised.

In his opening statement, Forchion still talked to the jury about the power. To the surprise of him and Judge Stephen W. Thompson, Wynne did not object.

Wynne said yesterday that he had not objected because "it wasn't hurting me. I think he was hurting himself."

Forchion also pleaded guilty to possession of a stolen item, a two-barrel shotgun, in an unrelated Ocean County case, and he pleaded guilty to theft for swiping a $500 bet he lost off a table at the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort in Atlantic City. Both of those indictments date from 1996, and the sentences will be consolidated with the drug charges.

In a departure from typical court proceedings, Thompson allowed Forchion to address the jury after he entered the guilty plea and ask the 13 citizens if they saw any merit in his argument that the government's marijuana laws were wrong.

"It is highly unusual, but everything about this case has been unusual," Thompson said.

Several jury members told Forchion that they felt for him and understood his cause. One juror even encouraged Forchion to continue fighting for his cause when he is released from prison. But the jurors also said that they did not understand how his belief that marijuana should be legalized related to the charges he was facing.

"There is a right and a wrong way to do things," one juror said.

--

Voters in Burlington County and the First Congressional District will have the opportunity to vote for Legalize Marijuana candidate Edward Forchion even though he may be headed to jail.

Forchion pleaded guilty last month to arranging a deal for 40 pounds of cannabis. Two days after his guilty plea he was arrested in Strawberry Mansion after buying three ounces of marijuana. He said the Philadelphia arrest was "a sign from God" that he should not have pleaded guilty, and he asked the Public Defender's Office in Trenton to enter a motion to withdraw his guilty plea. Forchion, who acknowledges he does not have a chance of getting elected, wanted to remain on the ballot to draw attention to his issue but feared the guilty plea would prevent him.

But the State Attorney General's Election Division ruled Forchion is eligible to stay on the ballot until he is sentenced. That isn't scheduled until December.

CAMDEN - Ed Forchion admits he likely won't be elected a county freeholder or congressman, but he considers himself a winner nonetheless.

His trial in state Superior Court here on charges of conspiring to distribute 40 pounds of marijuana ended Wednesday after Forchion pleaded guilty to lesser charges. Forchion, 36, of Pemberton Township, pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to distribute marijuana and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. He also pleaded guilty to charges in two unrelated cases. In exchange, he received a sentence under which he could spend as little as six months in prison and be subject to supervised parole for up to 27 months.

Had he been convicted of the more serious distribution charges, Forchion could have been sentenced to more than 20 years in prison. Forchion will be sentenced on Dec. 1, well after voters decide whether he should serve on the Burlington County Board of Freeholders or represent the 1st District in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Forchion is running in both races on the Legalize Marijuana Party ticket.

"I pleaded guilty but I feel like a winner," Forchion said. "(Prosecutors) offered me so much, (but) they wouldn't just drop the charge. They didn't want me to win this case on jury nullification." Forchion's defense strategy was jury nullification, when a jury decides not to enforce a law out of sympathy for the defendant.

Forchion, a former truck driver who has been an outspoken advocate of legalizing marijuana, was charged with helping his brother and another man pick up a shipment of 40 pounds of marijuana at the Bellmawr Industrial Park on Nov. 24, 1997. The marijuana was shipped from Arizona via Federal Express.

Russell Forchion and Eric Poole pleaded guilty to lesser charges and served short jail terms.

"To be consistent and fair, this was a responsible plea," said John Wynne, a Camden County assistant prosecutor. An observer of the Rastafarian faith, Forchion has said he smokes marijuana for religious reasons as well as to help ease back pain.

While Forchion conceded he is not likely to win at the polls this year, he believes voters can cast ballots for him to protest the country's marijuana laws.

Wynne said Forchion is permitted to remain on the ballot. His conviction won't be official until he is sentenced, and that will be after the election.

In addition to the marijuana charges, Forchion also pleaded guilty to possession of a stolen shotgun in Ocean County (i bought it) and stealing $500 worth of chips from a table at the Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City. ( I took my bet back)

The charges, which date to 1996, will be consolidated with the drug charges, Wynne said.

Forchion ran unsuccessfully against incumbent U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews, D-1st of Haddon Heights, in 1998 on The Legalize Marijuana Party ticket. He also ran unsuccessfully last year to represent the state's 8th Assembly District and for the Camden County Board of Freeholders.

Third-party candidate Ed Forchion spent part of the campaign season behind bars, and he expects to return there soon. He can't hold elected office, since he'll be sentenced in December for shipping 25 pounds of marijuana to New Jersey. He pleaded guilty to the crime on Wednesday.
But Forchion still hopes residents will support him in November when he seeks a seat on the Burlington County freeholder board and a seat in the U.S. Congress from the 1st District. Forchion, who is running on the Legalize Marijuana Party ticket, says a vote for him will be a vote against anti-marijuana laws.

"Me running for office is just giving other people the opportunity to participate in my protest," said Forchion, 36, a Rastafarian who says he uses marijuana for religious reasons, to alleviate back pain, to clear his mind and to boost creativity. "I would love to get 5,000 or 10,000 people to vote for me. It would be a symbolic thing."

Forchion, who calls himself "the Weedman," was arrested in Belmar in November 1997 on charges he was involved in arranging for and picking up a shipment of 25 pounds of marijuana that came from Arizona to New Jersey, said John Wynne, a Camden County assistant prosecutor.

Another 15 pounds of the drug was found in Forchion's brother's van as the two drove away from the pickup spot, Wynne said. He said Forchion faced up to 20 years in prison, 10 without parole.

But under the plea bargain Forchion accepted Tuesday, he will serve up to 10 years, with his first chance for parole after two years. If a panel of judges accepts Forchion into an intensive parole program that could include home visits, curfews and daily drug testing, Forchion could spend as little as six months in jail, Wynne said.

Similar deals were given to two other defendants in the case -- Forchion's brother, Russell, and Eric Poole.

By agreeing to the deal, Forchion will also dispose of several other charges against him: that he possessed 15 pounds of marijuana in Collingswood this year, and that he stole money off a gambling table in an Atlantic City casino and bought a gun he knew was stolen in Lakewood, both in 1996, Wynne said.

Those weren't Forchion's only run-ins with the law. The former truck driver has been arrested several times for smoking joints during public protests, once during a session of the state Assembly.

Forchion, who took the plea deal on the second day of his trial, said he couldn't resist the agreement. "I pleaded guilty, but I feel like a winner," said Forchion, who is free on $65,000 bail. "It was so close to total victory that I feel good about it."

In addition to sparing himself serious jail time, Forchion, who acted as his own lawyer, got his chance to address a jury on the subject of marijuana laws.

He asked the jurors to put the laws on trial, finding him innocent if they decided the policies were unethical. His main argument was that the government has wrongly classified marijuana as one of America's most dangerous drugs, claiming it has a high potential for abuse, has no acceptable medical use and is considered unsafe.

Since 1996, he said, eight states have at least partially rejected those beliefs by making marijuana legal when prescribed for medical use.

"The law is a lie, and it is being enforced," said Forchion, who had planned to call witnesses, including a university professor and a state chemist. "I want to present the truth."

Wynne admits that Forchion's defense strategy prompted him to offer a fairly lenient deal.

"He was representing himself, and when that happens, sometimes juries feel sympathy because's he's not a lawyer," Wynne said.

As part of the deal, Forchion was allowed to speak to the jury again before they were dismissed. He says he polled jurors and found that at least five of them were on his side. "I would have got a hung jury," he said.

But Wynne says it's unlikely jurors would have disregarded the facts and found Forchion innocent. He said they seemed concerned that the marijuana could have ended up in the hands of children if Forchion sold it.

Forchion, who is married and has four children, says he will do what he can to keep his time in prison to a minimum, including taking a break from smoking marijuana during his probation. But he isn't promising to give up the drug forever.

"I have always felt like I, and I alone, control my body," he said. "By me signing this plea, I am giving up my right to regulate my own body. When I get that back, I probably will use marijuana again."

MOUNT HOLLY -- Last month, Ed Forchion felt like a winner when he accepted a reduced jail sentence in exchange for admission that he helped smuggle 40 pounds of marijuana into New Jersey.

Since then, he has begun feeling more like a hypocrite who took a bribe.

So Forchion, a candidate for a seat on the Burlington County freeholder board, says he plans to back out of the deal.

The 36-year-old Pemberton Township man, who is running on the Legalize Marijuana Party ticket, says he isn't comfortable pleading guilty because he doesn't believe it should be a crime to smoke marijuana -- which he says he uses in his Rastafarian religion -- to alleviate back pain, clear his mind and boost creativity.

Forchion had intended to argue that the jury should find the law flawed and acquit him.

The protest candidate, who expects to get only about 1,000 votes in November's election, says he's ready to make that argument before a jury again, even though he has already lost his home, his trucking business and even a custody battle over a daughter because of his activism.

Besides being charged several times for smoking marijuana during protests, he was arrested on charges he bought the drug just three days after he signed his plea agreement, something he took as a sign from God that he should pursue his beliefs.

"I am a patriot," said Forchion, a married father of four who is free on $65,000 bail. "When people start allowing the government to treat you unfair, it spreads. That's why we have the situation we have now with the war on drugs."

But it may not be that easy for Forchion to pull out of the deal. Camden County Prosecutor Lee Solomon said Forchion will have to convince a judge to void the deal by proving that his agreement was not voluntary, or that he was not adequately represented by an attorney, Solomon said. He said those arguments will probably be heard on Forchion's scheduled sentencing date, Dec. 8.

Forchion expects to have no problem proving he was not properly represented. Forchion, who was going to act as his own lawyer, says he was entitled to help from the public defender's office but didn't get full cooperation.

Jeff Beach, a spokesman for the New Jersey public defender's office, said that was because Forchion insisted on a jury nullification defense, meaning he intended to ask the jury to acquit him because they found applicable drug laws unreasonable.

Jury nullification is not considered an acceptable defense in New Jersey, and Judge Stephen Thompson ordered Forchion not to pursue it, Beach said. As a result, he said, public defender Jaime Kaigh was not able to comply when Forchion asked him to subpoena certain witnesses and submit a motion asking the judge to allow the jury nullification defense.

Kaigh deemed one witness ineligible as an expert because he was going to testify that marijuana has been wrongly classified as one of the most dangerous drugs by the U.S. government, Beach said.

If Forchion is allowed to withdraw his plea, Solomon said Camden County will be "happy to try him" on charges he was involved in arranging for and picking up a shipment of 40 pounds of marijuana that came from Arizona to New Jersey in 1997. Forchion could face up to 20 years in state prison, at least 10 without parole.

Under the plea bargain, he would serve up to 10 years, with his first chance for parole after two years. If he was accepted into an intensive parole program under the deal, he could spend as little as six months in jail, a Camden County assistant prosecutor has said.

While Forchion says he doesn't expect to be acquitted, he feels certain he would end up with a hung jury after making his arguments. He says he was allowed to poll jurors before his trial was called off last month and found that at least five of them were on his side.

Assistant prosecutor John Wynne disagreed, saying jurors seemed worried that the marijuana Forchion is accused of smuggling could have ended up in the hands of children.

Forchion said the marijuana would have been sold to friends, and while it might have reached a few children, it would not have been marketed specifically to youngsters by drug pushers standing on street corners.

He said the government could stop those who do sell marijuana to schoolchildren by legalizing the drug and regulating the way it is sold.

"It should be in stores," he said. "The government creates the black market."

CAMDEN - Ed "njweedman" Forchion is attempting to withdraw his guilty plea for conspiring to distribute 40 pounds of marijuana.

Forchion, 36, a Pemberton Township resident who is running for Burlington County Freeholder and Congress on the Legalize Marijuana Ticket, pleaded guilty to lesser charges last month during his trial in state Superior Court here.

However, Forchion has filed papers Oct. 11 to withdraw his plea, saying he agreed to it "in a moment of extreme anxiety and temporary loss of my faith."

An observer of the Rastafarian faith, Forchion has said he smokes marijuana for religious reasons as well as to help ease back pain.

He said he realized that entering the plea was wrong when he was arrested several days later after buying three ounces of marijuana in the Strawberry Mansion section of Philadelphia, he said.

"I immediately knew I had made a mistake, and two days later God sent me another sign that my mission to free the herb was not complete and I had diverted from His mission," Forchion said. "The plea was not what God had intended of me."

Assistant Camden County Prosecutor John Wynne said he would argue against allowing Forchion to withdraw the plea.

A decision on Forchion's motion is likely before Forchion is sentenced in early December.

"There is nothing in the motion that would be grounds for a withdraw of the plea," Wynne said.

Meanwhile, Forchion's name will remain on the Nov. 7 ballot in both the freeholder and First Congressional District races.

Forchion pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to distribute marijuana and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and to two unrelated cases. In exchange, he received a sentence under which he could spend as little as six months in prison and be subject to intensive supervisory parole (ISP) for up to 27 months.

Had he been convicted of the more-serious distribution charges, Forchion could have been sentenced to more than 20 years in prison.

Forchion's defense strategy was jury nullification, in which a jury decides not to enforce a law out of sympathy for the defendant. It was, however, a strategy the lawyer assigned to assist him in the trial refused to allow him to use, said Forchion, who represented himself in the case.

Forchion was assisted by Jaime Kaigh, a Cherry Hill attorney who was assigned to Forchion through the state Office of the Public Defender, department spokesman Jeff Beach said.

"I felt I was getting an unfair trial in the first place," Forchion said. "I got more leeway than I thought I would get, but I wasn't getting a fair trial. I wanted to present the truth, that the law (against marijuana use) is wrong."

Beach said the defense strategy was barred by the judge prior to the start of the trial.
"We offered what help we could, but we can't go in and argue the issues Mr. Forchion would like us to argue," Beach said. "Where he wanted to go, we can't go there with him."

Forchion, a former truck driver who has been an outspoken advocate of legalizing marijuana, was charged with helping his brother and another man pick up a shipment of 40 pounds of marijuana at the Bellmawr Industrial Park on Nov. 24, 1997. The marijuana was shipped from a marijuana supplier in Arizona via Federal Express.

Russell Forchion and Eric Poole pleaded guilty to lesser charges and served short jail terms.

Forchion ran unsuccessfully against incumbent U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews, D-1st, of Haddon Heights in 1998 on the Legalize Marijuana Party ticket.

He also ran unsuccessfully last year for seats representing the Eighth State Assembly District and on the Camden County Freeholder board.

WEEDMAN SEEKS ASYLUM ACTUAL URL6 TRENTONIAN - www.trentonian.com UP IN SMOKE ! By TOM FERNANDEZ Staff Writer Waiting in Canada for asylum in Cuba, the New Jersey Weedman is confident that he could argue out of existence the anti-marijuana laws in the Garden State. If only he was given a chance. "I didn't get a fair trial. I have a right to choose my defense. I have a right to legal assistance. I chose to challenge the laws with the jury and I am entitled to assistance from counsel to do this," said New Jersey pot-legalization activist Edward Forchion. Calling The Trentonian from an undisclosed location in Canada, Forchion said he will find out today whether officials will grant him asylum in Cuba. He also expressed conflicted emotions about his Canadian jaunt, declaring that he dearly missed his wife Janice and his five children: King, Daeja, Ajanea, Maria and Chanel. "I'm a little stressed out and all. I don't know whether I made the right move or not," Forchion admitted over the phone. The practicing Rastafarian, who stunned onlookers in March when he lit a joint in the chambers of the New Jersey Assembly, faces a sentencing hearing Friday for charges on conspiracy and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. Authorities allege that Forchion was part of a group that had shipped 25 pounds of marijuana to a business in the Bellmawr Industrial Park. In Oct., 1998, Forchion was indicted on the conspiracy and possession charges related to those allegations. Forchion pleaded guilty in state Superior Court to these charges but subsequently filed a motion to retract the plea. With Friday's sentencing hearing, Forchion could face up to 10 years in prison. However, he argued that he will not officially become a fugitive from American law enforcement until Friday. Forchion said that he will think about his next move after he receives the result of his asylum request from officials of Cuba, which he made last week. "If nothing else, they took it seriously, I'll tell you that," he said. He added that he also made requests for asylum in several European countries and is waiting for a response from those governments as well. Forchion's argument for asylum is simple: He was denied a fair trial when officials denied him the right to use a legal defense known as "Jury Nullification." In this process, a defendant indicted of charges outlined in a newly enacted law can argue to a jury that the law is bogus. Forchion's argument was given support by a July 20, 1999 editorial written by Haddon Heights-based attorney David Marcos Ragonese -- who also stressed in the editorial that he did not approve of Forchion's lifestyle. In that editorial, Ragonese wrote of "jury nullification" that "it is an indispensable political right in a free, self-governing republic." Ragonese wrote later in the editorial that "jurors serving in New Jersey Superior Court are left in the dark regarding their power and right to pass on issues of law and fact in criminal prosecutions." Admitting that whileconsitutions of only three states (Maryland, Georgia and Indiana) explicitly protect "the right and power of juries to nullify the law," Ragonese argued that "I would agree that the New Jersey Constitution implicitly recognizes jury nullification and commands that jurors be instructed regarding their proper function." Even Camden's Assistant Deputy Public Defender Deborah C. Collins admitted to the power of "jury nullification" in a June 3, 1999 letter to Camden County Judge Ronald J. Freeman. "Jury's power of nullification by finding guilty defendant not guilty is unfortunate but unavoidable power that should not be advertised, but to extent constitutionally permissible, should be limited; efforts to protect and expand jury nullification are inconsistent with real values of system of criminal justice," Collins wrote. Forchion argues that the Camden Public Defender's Office should have allowed him and assisted his efforts to use jury nullification against New Jersey's anti-marijuana laws. He argues that New Jersey's zero-tolerance pot policy is unrealistic given national trends of growing acceptance towards marijuana use for medicinal purposes -- which he said is legal in over 35 states. "New Jersey marijuana laws, and the extreme prison sentences they prescribe, don't match up with the crime, nor with scientific fact or evidence." -- The Associated Press contributed to this report. ________________________________________ http://www.southjerseynews.com/m112400c.htm Legal marijuana advocate flees to Canada to avoid prison By JASON LAUGHLIN Courier-Post Staff Edward Forchion, a Browns Mills man who has campaigned to legalize marijuana, has fled to Canada to avoid a jail sentence for possession of the drug. Forchion, 36, left the United States last weekend and has sought asylum at the Cuban Embassy in Canada, he said in a phone call to the Courier-Post. His sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 1 in Superior Court in Camden. "I can't just walk into jail," Forchion said Wednesday. Forchion ran unsuccessfully this fall for a Burlington County freeholder's seat and the 1st District congressional seat. He said he arrived Wednesday at the Cuban Embassy in Ottawa, bags in hand. The embassy denied his verbal request for asylum and asked him to put it in writing. Forchion pleaded guilty to conspiracy and marijuana possession but filed a motion to retract his plea. He could be sentenced to 10 years imprisonment, but he can apply to the state's Intense Supervised Probation program, which could allow him to be released under strict monitoring after serving about six months of his term. Without the program, he would be eligible for parole in about 30 months. Forchion would become a fugitive if he does not show up for his Dec. 1 hearing, said Greg Reinert, spokesman for the Camden County Prosecutor's office. "As with all cases, if the defendant fails to appear on his sentencing date on Dec. 1, the prosecutor will move to revoke bail and begin proceedings to have any posted bail forfeited and to seek to have that defendant extradited from any jurisdiction he is hiding in," Reinert said. Forchion pleaded guilty in September, saying he wanted to be out of jail to see his children. His children were not with him in Canada, he said. He remains committed to legalizing marijuana in the United States, he said. "I don't hurt anybody. I should be allowed to smoke," he said.

This is a copy of the actual Asylum Request sent to the Cuban Embassy, I actually also sent it to several other's as well. AMERICA DISSIDENT EDWARD FORCHION ttt WWW.njweedman.com t 1020 HANOVER BLVD. t BROWNS MILLS , NJ , 08015 t USsA Home Phone (609)893-3543 t Email njweedman@yahoo.com NOVEMBER 22, 2000 POLITICAL , RELIGIOUS ASYLUM HEARING REQUEST Dear Ambassador My name is Edward Forchion , I have been a political candidate for the office US CONGRESS in the 1st US Congressional dist. of New Jersey. I have been protesting the US Governments "war on it’s own people", commonly called a "war on drugs" actually it’s a war on ("we the people") us. This "war" is a political war and American’s who openly oppose it are persecuted and victimized by the Government. For the last three years I have had my life threatened, my child taken from me, & I’ve been financially ruined , again all because I exercise my free speech rights, political rightsand publicly talk about how the "WAR ON DRUGS" infringes on my US Constitutional Right to freedom of religion. Most importantly I fear for my safety and freedom for exercising my RIGHTS as given to all human beings as per the 1947 UN HUMAN RIGHTS DECLARATION of which your nation as well as mine are signer’s. My nation routinely violate’s numerous articles , most importantly in my case Article 18 with it’s it’s irrational attempt to stop the use of the "GOD-GROWN GIFT" marijuana, (Ganja). UN DECLARATION of HUMAN RIGHTS - ARTICLE 18 Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance I understand that in your country there is a large RASTAFARIAN community in ORIENTE, and numerous Rasta’a also living in Santiago freely. In the event the US government refuse’s to allow me a FAIR trial these communities may accept me. On numerous occasions my government has recognized my religion (RASTAFARI) - US -Vs- Bauer 75 F.3d 1366 (9th Circ- 1996) and it’s use of "god’s gift" marijuana as a sacrament, yet forbids it’s use, effectively forbidding my religion. RASTAFARI is a illegal religion in the USA, and as a member I have been routinely been persecuted for speaking out publicly. My government try’s to claim I’m a criminal, I am not a criminal. For I freely chose to ingest marijuana into my own body. Three years ago I was charged with conspiracy to posses marijuana, I plead not guilty and demanded a fair trial. - The state of New Jersey just recently put me on trial in what could only be described as third world conditions, I was denied witness’s, denied my defense- and virtually only offered a lesser charge if I would plea guilty to several other charge’s I had always also maintained I was innocent of. In fact one charge was previously resolved and then resurrected, just to increase the pressure on me to accept a guilty confession. - The state of New Jersey has a three strike’s law which puts citizens in prison for life. This is also a violation of the UN Human Rights Declaration article 5, which forbids cruel and unusual punishment. THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY took all parental rights from me for openly professing my "RELIGION". - I had my daughter taken from me for my religion. This is the ultimate act of persecution to have one’s child taken for one’s belief’s. Many in this country supported taking Elian Gonzalez from his father because his father wasa proud member of your communitist party. --I very much respected your countries protection of parental rights in regards to the ELIAN G case in Florida earlier this year. Mr. Ambassador, I wish to ask you to grant me political asylum within the walls of your embassy until the state of New Jersey, i.e. grants me a new but FAIR trial. I do not wish to flea my country, I wish to have a safe haven while I prepare for my upcoming trial. Now-where in this country am I safe now. My Government is at "war with it’s citizens", we are in a virtual civil war and I just seek a safe refuge, and hope your at least grant me a asylum hearing within 30 day’s. Otherwise I will soon join 2 million other POW’s of this countries civil war. I ASK YOU THIS PER ARTICLE 14 - Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution. EDWARD FORCHION - AMERICAN DISSIDENT Edward Forchion

TOMORROW- DEC 1st,2000 - I go before Judge Thompson, who will either aloow me to withdrawal my plea or sentence me under the terms of the plea. This maybe the last time I get to update my online version of my story. I think the Judge will allow me to withdraw my plea but I'm sure theire will be a application to revoke my bail. - I would like to invoke the Universal Human Rights Declaration - article 14 which the USA signed that say's everyone has the right to seek asylum from persecution. - I delieved my Asylum request myself in Ottawa Canada, and returned for court. - I want my trial, I also want the world to see if the US truely adhere's to it's own constitutional principals. - The right to due process, the right to a fair trial are ingrained in the American System of law, has the War on Drugs, finally usurp even these basic principal's. The Judge will probably not want to hear this and revoke my bail. Whether he allows me to withdraw my plea I have no idea, if he does this is what I truely wish. If he denies it, then I will file an appeal based on my right to assitance of counsel being denied at the first trial, as well as numerous other irregularities. I will wish to have a new trial. Where my right to present my case before a Jury is heard. STATE OF NEW JERSEY vs NJWEEDMAN 2 If I'm incarcerated I truely wish some of my supporter's would keep in touch and write me at the Camden County Jail, 4th & Federal st., Camden NJ 08101. It depends on how long I'm jailed for, eventually I will be moved to a state fac. Call my wife for the address. - (609)893-3543 . If you really wish to help me see how much it would take to have me released on bail, pending appeal. - Plus bail for the municipal charges that I also face.

ED Forchion - njweedman@yahoo.com FOUNDER OF THE (LMP)  The"Legalize Marijuana Party"

TO THOSE WHO DIS-AGREE WITH ME CLICK RIGHT HERE. - (CLICK)