Trenton, NJ – For over three decades, Ed Forchion aka NJWeedman has fought for the legalization of marijuana. As one of the first Black activist in the movement, dating back to the early 90’s, Forchion has spent over 1200 days in prison, fighting for the right to smoke and sell pot. Now, in 2020, with marijuana legalized in the majority of states, Forchion is part of a vocal collective that is fighting against the current legalization policies in his home state of New Jersey. Forchion asserts that new laws are being set to criminalize growers and small vendors like him, while awarding billion-dollar contracts to corporations for the sales, distribution and marketing of the plant. In an effort to mobilize attention to this grave matter, Forchion is launching “Get on the CannaBus with NJWeedman,” an Instagram Live series, starting Monday, September 7, 2020 from 6:00 p.m. ET to 7:00 p.m. ET, to garner awareness and support per his current anti-legalization campaign in New Jersey.
“Get on the CannaBus” will galvanize support for Forchion’s current act of civil obedience which he has championed with the hashtag campaign “#SellingWeedLikeImWhite.” Forchion, who has been defiantly selling marijuana, is hoping to stir up international support as he encourages ‘black market’ sells and distribution of the plant in protest to current policies. Each show will be an hour in length with a lineup of guests that includes former NFL player Justin Renfrow, a cannabis business owner and advocate for the use of cannabis and CBD for athletic pain relief; high profile criminal and civil litigation attorney John Vincent Saykanic; New Jersey/Philadelphia based media personality OsoDiva; filmmaker and director of the NJ Weedman’s Joint ‘weedisode’ series, “Pot-Trooper,” Tamal Forchion;and Philadelphia based rapper, Eness.
“What is happening in New Jersey is nothing short of a travesty of justice and an example of systemic racism,” cites Forchion, a New Jersey congressional candidate. “I of course support the legalization of marijuana. What I don’t support is the current guise of deceit and manipulation under which it is being done. Since the 90’s, state officials have been pushing the war on drugs and targeting marijuana users in that war. Now these former and current state officials are part of the scheme to steal the marijuana industry from disenfranchised People of Color and hand it over to a few white corporate guys, openly excluding those who have been in this ‘illegal industry’ for decades. Basically, it is white men making laws to legalize other rich white men and to continue to exclude and criminalize everyone else for the same plant.”
Forchion’s long-standing battle for marijuana law reform has been documented for over three decades. Considered by many as the “grandfather of marijuana reform in New Jersey,” Forchion is a military veteran who has suffered from bone cancer and states he needs marijuana for his symptoms and treatment. He is the director of the New Jersey Black Market Cannabis Providers Association (NJBMCPA) and the founder of the Legalize Marijuana Party. Forchion achieved Hollywood notoriety when he opened a marijuana dispensary in Los Angeles on Hollywood Blvd. in 2008. The Liberty Bell Temple was recognized as a religious sanctuary with marijuana as part of its sacred ceremonies. The California location was shut down in 2012 after a federal drug raid in 2011.
