Marijuana activist pledges more protests
Plans Dec. 6th, liberty bell smoke-out

John Reitmeyer
Burlington County Times
11-21-2003

MOUNT HOLLY - Marijuana legalization advocate Ed Forchion is getting ready to complete a 20-month parole term for drug possession, but don't expect the self-described "nj-weedman" to keep quiet once that term is done.

To celebrate the end of his parole, Forchion said he plans to go to the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia on Dec. 6th, when the parole term ends. He said he will smoke marijuana with other activists in front of the national symbol of freedom as "a patriotic thing" and a religious demonstration.

Forchion says he practices the Rastafarian religion and contends he uses marijuana for religious ritual. He believes a federal court ruling protects his right to use marijuana for religious purposes on federal property, such as the grounds surrounding the Liberty Bell.

Forchion, who lives in Pemberton Township, learned yesterday that he is scheduled for release from the state's Intensive Supervision Program on Dec. 3. He has been enrolled in the parole program since early last year in connection with an October 2000 conviction for possessing 40 pounds of marijuana.

The program calls for mandatory urine tests and other restrictions

Forchion met with the program's resentencing panel yesterday for a review hearing, and the board informed him that his term would end Dec. 3.

Forchion served more than a year of a 10-year state prison term before being released from prison in April 2002. He was then enrolled in the parole program for a 20-month term.

If he violates the terms of the program before Dec. 3, he will have to return to prison.

Forchion is no stranger to demonstrations at government sites. He has been arrested for smoking marijuana inside the New Jersey Statehouse in Trenton and in front of the Burlington County Administration Building in Mount Holly.

He said he has more than one intention for his Dec. 6t visit to the Liberty Bell. While there, he will also officially launch a 2004 run for the U.S. House of Representatives in the 3rd District, which is currently represented by Republican Jim Saxton of Mount Holly.

Forchion has run unsuccessfully for federal, state and county offices several times using a marijuana-legalization platform. This time, Forchion said, he will run for the first time as a member of the U.S. Marijuana Party.