NJWeedman

Robert Edward Forchion, (born 1964 and widely known as NJWeedman) is a counterculture icon, published author, black intellectual, and a leading figure in the American cannabis legalization movement. He first gained fame in the 1990s, when he created the Legalize Marijuna Party and campaigned in local elections in New Jersey. He was widely covered in the press for holding smoke-outs and smoking inside the offices of politicians. As a black Rastafarian, NJWeedman suffered numerous incidents of police brutality. He defended himself in court numerous times, famously applying the tactics of jury nullification to have his cases of possession thrown out.

NJWeedman

NJWeedman first received his nickname when he chose to only transport cannabis as a cross-country trucker. He began calling himself under this name after he was busted with nearly 40 pounds of marijuana in New Jersey in 1997. He decided to apply the tactic of Jury Nullification, which no defense attorney was willing to support, leading NJWeedman to represent himself pro se. NJWeedman took the case all the way to trial, which lasted from September 18–20, 2000. On the last day of trial NJWeedman accepted the plea deal offered by the state prosecutor, landing him in jail from December 2000-April 2002. However, in an unusual turn of events, NJWeedman was allowed to poll the jury to learn how many jurors would have found him not guilty by applying jury nullification. He learned that 5 jurors would have voted not guilty on the marijuana charges, but NJWeedman had already accepted the plea deal.

1990s Arrests

NJWeedman's fame came from the creative direct actions he applied and the media attention he received from them. He first gained publicity by smoking a joint inside the office of Congressman Rob Andrews in Haddon Heights, New Jersey, on April 27, 1998. The first joint was tossed in the toilet by the receptionist, so the police had no evidence against NJWeedman, but he returned an hour later with another joint and was promptly arrested. The next day, April 28, he attempted to smoke inside the Democratic Party Headquarters in Cherry Hill, NJ, but was locked out of the building, although he was still arrested. In October 1999, NJWeedman filed a 21-point motion to dismiss for both cases in Cherry Hill and Haddon Heights courts, which were both denied in February 2000.

NJWeedman was also commonly arrested for cannabis possession. In some instances he claimed police officers harassed him and used excessive force when dealing with him. Even though he lost, NJWeedman later filed a $17 million lawsuit against the state for the following arrests and incidents of police brutality. On May 2, 1998, NJWeedman was pulled over and maced in the face by Gloucester Township police, and was later charged for possession of a joint inside the car. He was arrested on June 26, 1998, for campaigning in a vacant parking lot in Winslow, NJ. He was arrested after being pulled over by Stratford, New Jersey, police in October 1999, and was found to have warrants out for his arrest for missing court.

NJWeedman organized the first serious cannabis protests in New Jersey. He organized the first cannabis "Smoke-Outs" in Camden, NJ, in May 1998 and 1999, which served as the first NJ protests in combination with the international Global Marijuana March protests conducted those years.

Name Change

While serving his sentence at Riverfront State Prison in December 2001, NJWeedman filed in Camden County Superior Court to have his name changed to "NJWeedman.com" - the name of his online website. The Camden County Prosecutors office opposed the name change, claiming the motive of the name change was an excuse for NJWeedman to expand his drug operation. On February 15, 2002, the judge denied NJWeedman's name request, but NJWeedman was unable to attend court that day because he was never transferred from his prison cell to court. NJWeedman appealed the decision in NJ Appellate Court, IMO E. Forchion, in January 2004, arguing for himself pro se. NJWeedman won his appeal in February 2004, when the three-judge panel ruled that NJWeedman's name change should not have been rejected in February 2002 because NJWeedman was not present in court during the ruling. The NJ Superior Court therefore held a remand hearing on March 26, 2004, when Superior Court Judge John A. Fratto denied the name change request because the name allegedly promoted illegal activity. An Appeal Hearing on May 4, 2004, ended with the Appellate judge panel ruling against the name change, which ended the name change attempt all together.

NJWeedman attempted to change his name to "NJWeedman.com" for a second time in 2010, but this time attempted to change it through California, Los Angeles County Superior Court. He requested the name change to gain publicity for his 2010 arrest in New Jersey. On July 27, 2010, Judge. A. Steele denied the name change request, claiming the desired name could cause confusion because it was designed as an online website, and because the judge ruled that NJWeedman did not possess the domain rights of the name. On April 4, 2011, along with the help of nationally known patent attorney, J. Curtis Edmondson, NJWeedman filed a motion to reverse the trial. On August 26, 2011, Jazzmyne Public Relations wrote about the appeal that the “paramaters of this case just might change legislation and impact the world of new media in an unprecedented manner.” On August 31, 2011, the Superior Court of L.A. County ruled against the name change.

NJWeedman tried changing his name for a third time to bring awareness to his treatment in NJ courts in 2013. On October 11, 2013, NJWeedman filed to change his name to "Just Another Nigger" in the Burlington County Superior Court Docket L-2477-13. He changed his name "to highlight my plight as the Courts treated me as such." The case was dismissed in November, but NJWeedman filed for reconsideration in January 2014, and had his hearing set for April 11, 2014. In an 11-page disposition, the Court denied NJWeedman's name change because it contained a "racial epithet universally considered offensive and conducive to violence." The court deemed the term to be "fighting words" that “by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of peace.”

Legalize Marijuana Party

As a way to spread his pro-legalization message, NJWeedman created the Legalize Marijuana Party in 1998 and ran for local offices. He also used the tactics of direct action and civil disobedience to gain publicity for his cause. He is known for having witty remarks for reporters, and he shared all of his stories on his popular website NJWeedman.com. In 1998, he ran for Camden County Freeholder and for Congress in the 1st District, garnering 3,468 votes. In 1999, he ran for Camden County Freeholder and State Assembly, receiving 3,100 votes. In 2000, he received more than 4,500 votes running for Burlington County Freedholder and in the 1st Congressional District. NJWeedman kept receiving more votes each year he ran. By 2004, NJWeedman collected more votes than any other Third Party, with over 7,000 votes in the 3rd Congressional District and the Burlington County Freedholder, despite having no funding and facing constant arrests. He received 9,075 votes in his Congressional run in 2005. He placed third in 2012 for the 3rd Congressional District, with a total of 1,965 votes. He placed fourth for the NJ Senate in 2006, receiving 11,362 votes, or 1 percent of the total votes. NJWeedman ran into trouble several times over the years. In 2014, the Democratic State Committee challenged his collected signatures in a record-breaking 15-hour "marathon hearing," which NJWeedman claimed was done to prevent NJWeedman from ciphering votes away from the Democrats.

2000 Arrests

NJWeedman believed he was arrested out of punishment for advocating jury nullification several times in 2000. This included his arrest by Collingswood, NJ, police on February 8, 2000, when he was arrested for intent to distribute 15 pounds of cannabis. NJWeedman later learned in court that in the probable cause statement attached to NJWeedman's arrest warrant said he was described as "a threat to the community." His most famous political act took place on March 16, 2000, when he openly smoked a joint inside the Assembly Chambers in Trenton, NJ, while wearing a black and white striped prison costume. He swallowed the joint when he was taken away by guards, and he remained in jail until his March 24 Trenton Municipal Court case over child custody, which resulted in the judge ordering NJWeedman to be jailed. The state later dismissed the Trenton case. He was arrested outside the Burlington County Administration Building in Mt. Holly, on June 8, 2000, for lighting up a joint in front of the press. He gained press attention for hosting his third annual Smoke-Out at the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, PA, on May 6, 2000. He smoked there again August 2 during the 2000 Philadelphia Republican Convention, and he was not arrested. He was arrested again on September 1, 2000, outside a Dunkin Donuts in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, stemming from a complaint issued by his ex-girlfriend, landing him in jail over the next few days. That same month his Camden court case concluded with him beginning a 17-month jail sentence in December 2000. Only a few days after his guilty plea in September 2000, NJWeedman was busted for trying to buy three ounces of cannabis in Strawberry Mansion, Philadelphia.

Probation 2002-2003

Released from prison and into parole on April 3, 2002, NJ Weedman was ordered by his Intensive Supervision Program (ISP) probation officer to not openly speak about cannabis. NJWeedman ignored this and contacted the press on numerous occasions. This landed NJWeedman in the Burlington County jail from June 6–10, 2002. He was placed back in the ISP program, until he was kicked out again after filming commercial advertisements under the Legalize Marijuana Party in August 2002. NJWeedman was imprisoned for filming the commercials for five months, from August 19, 2002 - January 2003. Thus began Forchion v. Intensive Supervision Program, Bartlett.

NJWeedman went to court for his first ISP hearing in front of a three-judge panel on September 17, 2002, and remained in prison for his next two ISP hearing on December 4, 2002, and January 17, 2003. NJWeedman then contacted Federal Judge Irena to intervene in the State case. NJ Attorney General Peter Harvey argued against this in a writ habeous corpus by claiming Federal Judge Irena had no authority to overstep the State and get involved in this decision under the Rooker-Feldman doctrine; but Judge Irena overstepped this decision and ordered the State to respond to NJWeedman's appeals. By 2003, NJ-ACLU filed an amicus brief on behalf of NJWeedman. On January 24, 2003, Judge Irena granted NJWeedman's preliminary injunction, thereby freeing him from the Burlington County Jail that he sat in for five months. Judge Irenas ordered his release with this ruling from the 18-page decision: “The First Amendment exists so as to promote debate on issues of public importance. In this case, the advocacy of the legalization of marijuana is a legitimate political position in this country. The Libertarian Party, whose presidential candidate received over 380,000 votes in the 2000 election, advocates the legalization of drugs. Many elected public officials have called for a liberalization of the nation's drug laws. Simply put, Plaintiff's place in this debate will do nothing to harm a public that is already itself debating the current state of our nation's drug laws.” Weedman claimed his release from prison stemmed from the press attention he received from numerous media outlets.

Christie Protests 2003

After he was released from prison in 2003, NJWeedman filed Federal Criminal Charges against NJ Attorney General, Chris Christie, holding him responsible for his incarceration for five months from August 2002-January 2003. In August 2003, NJWeedman took his protest to the doors of Christie's office at the U.S. Federal Building in Newark, NJ. Every Monday for three weeks NJWeedman held a placard in Newark that called Christie a "hypocrite." On August 4, the first protest in Newark, NJWeedman passed out flyers, including one that he handed to Paula Dow, the counsel to the US Attorney. Dow then witnessed several police officers arrest NJWeedman on the sidewalk. In the New Jersey Law Journal NJWeedman claimed he would not plead guilty to the charges of "creating a disturbance, soliciting and vending, and nonconformity with signs and directions." He argued that he had the First Amendment right to picket and distribute flyers outside the federal building. His court date was set for October 30, and he faced fines totaling $150. NJWeedman was arrested again on August 11 & 18, 2003.

In US v. Edward Forchion,NJWeedman was charged with distribution of flyers without permit; "soliciting, vending, and debt collection" (two counts); "conformity with signs and direction" (two counts); "Disturbances" (two counts); and "resisting arrest." His hearing scheduled for October 30 was pushed back to January 29, 2004, held at the Martin Luther King Federal Courthouse, the building right next to Christie's office, before Judge Maritone. NJWeedman subpoenaed Paula Dow to be his one and only witness. Yet the US Attorneys Office dismissed the case on November 20, 2003.

2003 DNA Court Case

NJWeedman gained national publicity for winning his 2003 DNA court case. NJ Governor McGreevey on September 22, 2003, passed a new bill that mandated all state prisoners to submit a sample of DNA. Opposed by organizations like the ACLU, NJWeedman came out against the bill by writing a letter to Governor McGreevey on September 23, saying he would not "surrender" his DNA to the state. NJWeedman claimed he had a legal right to disobey the new law because it was passed after he was convicted in December 2000, and was therefore not part of his plea bargain. NJWeedman received a letter from ISP on September 29, demanding he hand over his DNA, but NJWeedman ignored the request. On November 3, 2003, a 29-page letter brief was filed (Civ. A. No. 02-4942) on behalf of amicus curiae of NJ-ACLU, in support of NJWeedman’s motion for a preliminary injunction prohibiting officers of the Probation Services Division from extracting NJWeedman’s blood or DNA. On November 20, NJWeedman learned his ISP probation would end on December 3, 2003. Thus he planned on waiting out the requests for his DNA until December 3, when he would no longer be required to give up his DNA because he would technically be off probation. On December 2, the day before his release, he was ordered to give up his DNA, which he ignored, but was later issued a contempt of court citation on December 4. On January 8, 2004, a grand jury in Camden County indicted Weedman under one count for criminal contempt for not providing a DNA sample. He risked 18 months of prison time if he lost his case in Camden Superior Court on January 8, 2004. NJWeedman plead guilty but lost his case.

NJWeedman's challenge to the DNA contempt case began on July 22, 2004. In early September 2004, Judge Robert G. Millenky ruled that Weedman was not guilty of criminal contempt for refusing to provide a sample of DNA, after Weedman argued that the court did not specify a time or place to provide the DNA. Judge Millenky said the state wasn't allowed to pursue contempt charges against criminals who refused to submit DNA samples because the new law did not call for any criminal penalties for noncompliance. The state Attorney's General Office appealed in November 2004. Oral arguments were held March 3, 2005, and the state admitted over 2,000 other state citizens refused to comply with the DNA law. Yet only NJWeedman was prosecuted, which Weedman declared was "selective prosecution." On April 8, 2005, an Appellate Court upheld the Superior Court's decision to not charge Weedman for refusing to comply with a DNA sample.

Liberty Bell Religious Protests 2004

NJWeedman was released from ISP probation in December 2003, which is when he began his monthly Smoke-Outs at the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, PA. Once a month for the next six months, NJWeedman and crowds of less than a hundred persons held a religious prayer on the Federal Property at the Liberty Bell, before openly consuming the drug. NJWeedman's goal was to get ticketed for smoking in order to challenge the law by using the Religious Freedom & Restoration Act (RFRA) of 1993 as a defense, which previously protected religious consumption of cannabis and other drugs on federal property. Along with Patrick Duff, a 27-year old white male, NJWeedman hosted a religious cannabis ceremony every third Saturday of the month. NJWeedman and Duff were given citations for smoking at the Liberty Bell on December 20, 2003, March 20, 2004, and April 17, 2004. NJWeedman was patted down by park rangers in December and March, while Duff, a white man, was not patted down for the first time until April. On March 20, a park ranger tried to grab the joint out of NJWeedman's mouth, saying, "give it to me." Then, in one of his most famous acts of civil disobedience on camera, NJWeedman blew the smoke in the park ranger's face and said, "I just did."

NJWeedman and Duff defended themselves in Philadelphia court pro se, along with the assistance of black attorney Michael Coard. Court hearings for U.S. v. Forchion began November 10, 2004, when NJWeedman argued his practice of Rastafarianism protected his usage of cannabis at the religious services, and that the citations from the Liberty Bell represented religious persecution by the government. NJWeedman and Duff were ordered to serve probation on November 12, 2004, after the judge determined that the RFRA didn't apply to the Third Circuit. NJWeedman's appeal was later rejected in 2005, and his probation was essentially voided and went unnoticed throughout that time.

Comcast Lawsuit

NJWeedman famously filed a federal lawsuit against Comcast Company, after the corporation declined to air his political ads on television for the Legalize Marijuana Party in the summer of 2002. NJWeedman filed a $420,000 federal lawsuit against Comcast on March 10, 2003, at the U.S. District Court in Camden, for "censoring his political statements, breaching a contract with him and libeling him" by falsely accusing him of advocating "drug use." He cited Comcast as violating his "civil rights" when it refused to air his "political-issue ads." On March 20, 2003, the case was dismissed due to "surmountable technicality." NJWeedman urged Comcast to break off its contract with The Partnership for a Drug-Free America (PDFA), a leading anti-cannabis organization that received millions of dollars to air anti-drug ads on Comcast. NJWeedman called Comcast hypocritical for airing anti-drug ads, but not ads that presented real facts about drugs.

On February 10, 2004, Weedman formally requested commercial advertising time for his political commercials by filing a signed contract at Comcast. Expected to air on February 19, NJWeedman learned from Comcast on February 12 that the contract was dismissed. NJWeedman filed an emergent injunctive relief against Comcast in February, but Comcast ignored his lawsuit, forcing NJWeedman to motion for a default judgement on May 4, 2004.

2005

NJWeedman questioned NJ activism beginning in 2005, which led him to move to California by 2008. NJWeedman was arrested on May 11, 2005, inside the New Jersey State House, while trying to announce his campaign for Governor at "press row" - a free public space used for press releases. But NJWeedman was denied entrance in the public area, after a NJ State Trooper tackled him to the floor while trying to enter the public area. Even some newspapers defended Weedman. On May 16, the Philadelphia Inquirer defended Weedman from Sgt. Gerald Lewis' charge that he was guilty of "defiant trespassing." The article rhetorically asked: "How does one "defiantly trespass on state property?" On June 3, the Courier Post editorial board defended Weedman. Arguing against the charges of trespassing, the Post wrote: "It is unclear how a person can trespass in a public building during a time when it is open to the public. It is equally difficult to understand how Forchion can be denied access to an area in that public building that is frequented by the public." It concluded by praising the actions of someone like Weedman: "Silencing people such as Forchion will, in the end, make it harder for anyone to speak up. Silence, not the Forchions in America, poses a threat to our way of life." NJWeedman's first court case landed on May 19, 2005, at the Mercer County Superior Court. On June 15, NJWeedman learned he could not present his case to a jury of his peers. NJWeedman's court hearing landed on March 22, 2006, in front of Trenton Municipal Judge Lawson R. McElroy. Weedman's attorney, Lee Wearing, was offered a deal prior to the trial’s start that day, but NJWeedman turned it down. It wasn't until months later that Weedman was quietly convicted of trespassing.

He was arrested again on the political campaign trail at Seaside Heights beach, May 30, 2005. This arrest spawned from a debate between NJWeedman and a police officer over whether NJWeedman had the right to politically campaign for legalization. Weedman was not convicted in Seaside Heights case, and it was dismissed by the Judge on October 19. Both the Judge and Prosecutor said Weedman had the right to campaign his views openly in Seaside Heights. Nonetheless he was charged with $300 in court costs, and his bail was then "conveniently" set at $300, and as soon as he paid his bail, money was seized by Seaside Heights as payment for the fine.

On November 3, 2005, five days prior to the election, NJWeedman held a rally in Trenton, NJ, in support of his campaign. Trenton police warned NJWeedman that he would need a permit for the march and rally, but NJWeedman refused to get a permit and protested without harassment.

Moving to California

NJWeedman left NJ and lived in California and worked at a marijuana dispensary from February–April 2006. He returned to New Jersey after some problems, but he eventually settled in California. At the end of 2006, NJWeedman created the Reefer Raffle in order to give out as prizes an ounce of cannabis for those who donated to his campaign. On April 20, 2007, NJWeedman organized a rally with Philly NORML at the Liberty Bell. NJWeedman politically exiled himself from NJ in early 2008, moving back to California to work in a marijuana dispensary.

In 2009, NJWeedman officially incorporated his California Liberty Bell Temple II a medical dispensary as well as a religious church.This meant LBT-II was operated “exclusively for religious purposes” under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Weedman claimed the LBT-II was the city’s “only independent and incorporated Rastafarian Temple.” Weedman eventually opened up a party promotions company called “NJweedmanPromotions.” He stopped calling himself a marijuana activist and instead called himself a marijuana capitalist. Using NJWeedmanPromotions, he hosted marijuana themed rooftop and loft parties in downtown LA, lavish Hollywood Mansion Parties in the Hills, and weekly events at Hollywood area clubs. Just by hosting parties he appeared three times on the television show TMZ in 2010.

The LA City Council initiated a moratorium on registered pot shops in 2007, in order to set up proper regulations under operating a dispensary. The medical marijuana ordinance was signed on April 30, 2010. It ruled that any dispensary opened after November 13, 2007, was not eligible and was therefore required to shut down. Hundreds of dispensaries were ordered to shut down by June 7, 2010. NJWeedman was ordered to shut down LBT-II as well, despite the fact that LBT-II was an official religious church and not a medical dispensary. By early summer 2010, undercover LAPD officers infiltrated LBT-II and illegally purchased marijuana from people inside, in violation of state and federal law. So on July 14, 2010, the LAPD obtained a court-ordered search warrant and raided LBT-II, confiscating three pounds of marijuana, $7,000 of cash and supplies, several hundred grams of weed, an ATM machine, scales, a cash register and other items involved in narcotic sales. Detectives apprehended six people, including NJWeedman. On July 27, 2010, Weedman was represented by Attorney David Welch, who represented dozens of other medical dispensary owners, in Los Angeles Superior Court. NJWeedman filed a civil rights lawsuit in Liberty Bell Temple Inc. v. Los Angeles. Weedman was among 100 dispensaries to have filed 42 lawsuits challenging the ordinance. Weedman in fact expanded his case against the city by joining another lawsuit that attacked the validity of the new city law, while also filing a $1 million lawsuit against the city. On January 4, 2011, the judge issued an order of “enjoiner” for LBT to allow the Temple to be legally operated as a religious cannabis church. Weedman claimed this was the “first successful court-approved cannabis church ever.” On November 16, 2011, the City of L.A. dropped all charges against Weedman and LBT.

On December 17, 2010, only a week after the court injunction victory, Weedman’s Santa Fee Springs grow operation was raided by an unknown number of San Bernadino Sheriffs. Weedman suspected the L.A. authorities supported the San Bernadino raid to get back at Weedman for winning his injunction. On December 10, 2012, the statute of limitations landed on its final day after two years, and Weedman filed a State Civil Lawsuit (BC497449) in Forchion v. San Bernadino Sheriff Department, seeking $420,000 and punitive damages. Weedman said he rounded off each plant to $1,000.

In late-2011, Weedman was forced to drop his title as a marijuana capitalist, and returned to his original title as a marijuana activist. This happened when the DEA raided LBT-II on December 13, 2011. NJWeedman had all of his plants, bank accounts, stores, growing operations, and assets seized, and his website was suspended for a week. He returned to NJ a few days later with no money in his pocket.

2010 Arrest

NJWeedman returned to NJ cannabis activism in 2010. NJWeedman lived in California without being arrested from 2006-2010. Yet, while on vacation back in NJ on April 1, 2010, NJWeedman was pulled over by a State Trooper in Mount Holly, NJ, and was charged with possession of more than 50 grams of marijuana, possession of drugs with the intent to distribute, possession of drug paraphernalia, failure to obey a traffic signal, driving while suspended and driving with a controlled dangerous substance in a motor vehicle. NJWeedman immediately said he would challenge the state's contradicting laws, which simultaneously declared marijuana a criminal charge with no medical value, while the state's 2010 medical marijuana program claimed cannabis did have medical value. On August 31, 2010, a Burlington County Grand Jury indicted Weedman on two charges of possession of CDS (marijuana) with intent to distribute (3rd degree), and possession of CDS (marijuana) (4th degree). On April 20, 2011, Weedman's lawyer John Vincent Saykanic filed an historic 82-page brief (107-page appendix) in NJ's Burlington County Court.

The big trial took place on May 3, 8-9, 2012. On May 9, NJWeedman was found guilty of possession of CDS (marijuana) (4th degree); but was successfully found not guilty by the jury on the charge with intent to distribute, which was subsequently thrown out. NJWeedman received the not guilty verdict from the jury performing jury nullification. The re-trial took place from October 16–18, 2012. Once again NJWeedman won his case through jury nullification. He won the trial in a 12-0 decision. Thus all 12 jury members applied jury nullification and found NJWeedman not guilty, which provided him a wave of publicity, including support from national NORML. On January 16, 2013, Weedman was found guilty of "fourth-degree marijuana possession" and received a suspended license, two years of probation and more than $3,400 in fines and fees at Burlington County Court. On January 17, only 24 hours after Weedman won his case, Judge Delehey issued a fugitive warrant for Weedman's arrest.

On January 31, 2013, Weedman was arrested at Philadelphia International Airport as he prepared to fly home to CA. He was held in Philadelphia's Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility for 17 days under a $200,000 bail, before he was transferred to Burlington County Jail, where he stayed from January 31 - March 14. On March 12, 2013, Weedman appeared in Burlington County Court in Mt. Holly for his VOP plea and sentence. Weedman received a 9-month sentence in the Burlington County Jail, after he pleaded guilty to violating his probation. Weedman received “jail credits” from April 1–5, 2010, and January 31 – March 12, 2013, for a total of 45 days. NJWeedman was released March 14, 2013, and was ordered to serve out the remainder of his sentence in September. On September 10, Weedman returned to court and was ordered to serve the remainder of his 270-day prison sentence. In order for him to continue receiving his medical marijuana treatments, however, Judge Delehey ordered Weedman to serve his sentence in what is known as a "staggered term" - meaning the sentence was broken down and served in parts, not just all at once. So Weedman was put on a 20-day-in and 10-day-out schedule, serving his first 20 days from September 20 - October 8. This allowed him to exit jail and continue to receive his medical treatments for his tumors, while serving out the remainder of his jail term.

NJWeedman ended his staggered term jail sentence on January 30, 2014. He filed his appeal brief on March 17, 2014. On October 8, 2014, Weedman introduced the “Motion to Supplement the Record with ACLU Report,” which referenced that the Drug War was racist based off the June 2013 ACLU 186-page report, “The War on Marijuana in Black & White – Billions of Dollars Wasted on Racially Biassed Arrests.” It was granted by the Appellate Division on October 30, 2014. The Superior Court of NJ Appellate Division heard Weedman’s consolidated appeals and 17 arguments on Friday, May 27, 2015, before a three- judge panel. In a 31-page decision on Friday, August 7, 2015, the Superior Court rejected Weedman’s appeal and confirmed his conviction. Attorney Allan Marain filed a 9-page brief on behalf of Amici NORML and CMMNJ in support of petition for certification under State of New Jersey v. Forchion. In December 2015, the State Supreme Court declined his appeal.

On March 7, 2016, John Saykanic and Allan Marain filed for Weedman a Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court. On May 9, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court docket listed his case as being “distributed for conference” beginning May 12, which was when the justices’ would meet and discus the merits of the case. The U.S. Supreme Court officially denied NJWeedman’s case on Monday, May 16. This ended his six year case.

NJ Smoke-Outs 2014-present

NJWeedman is credited for hosting New Jersey's first Smoke-Outs. He organized the Camden Smoke-Outs in 1998 and 1999, and Philadelphia, PA, and Trenton, NJ, smoke-outs in early 2000s. NJWeedman revived the NJ Smoke-Outs beginning in 2014, when he hosted the April 20 Trenton State House Smoke-Out, "Confront Christie's Cannabis Policies." Nearly 150 people attended the rally and smoked in civil disobedience at 4:20 P.M. without being arrested, making it the largest cannabis rally in the state. NJWeedman then began working with Kyle Moore as well as the East Coast Cannabis Coalition in organizing the next State House smoke-out on October 18, 2014, where 250 persons smoked without arrests.

On March 21, 2015, Weedman and ECCC organized the state's largest cannabis rally of 350 persons at the Trenton State House, which again ended in zero arrests. On April 20, 2015, NJWeedman smoked with about 50 persons at the Trenton State House without police harassment. On April 25, Weedman hosted a free cannabis festival with bands and speakers in Mill Hill Park, Trenton, NJ, and no one was arrested for smoking. On May 2, 2015, NJWeedman returned to Camden, NJ, to host the Global Marijuana March rally, where nearly 80 persons smoked without any arrests. On July 10, 2015, the famous oil holiday (710 upside down spells oil) NJWeedman openly smoked at Love Park in Philadelphia, PA, with over 200 persons at a rally demanding the passage of a medical bill in PA. On October 17, 2015, NJWeedman and ECCC hosted the NJ Cannabis Freedom Rally at the Trenton State House, where more than 100 persons smoked without arrests.

On November 5, 2015, Trenton City Council voted on a non-binding resolution that called for the legalization of cannabis in NJ. NJWeedman and ECCC members spoke in favor of the resolution at the meeting in City Hall. One councilperson supported the resolution, but no other councilpersons seconded the resolution, and therefore it died on the floor. After walking out of the meeting in disgust along with two dozen cannabis activists, NJWeedman returned and smoked a joint in the back seats of the City Council meeting. He was asked to leave and left the premise without being arrested.

NJWeedman hosted the Third Annual 420 protest at the Trenton State House on April 20, 2016, but he was placed under arrest on April 19 and was held in prison for several days, causing him to miss the rally. The April 20 protest was carried out by the ECCC and around 100 persons smoked at the State House without any arrests.

NJ Cannabis Temple & Raid

As of May 2015, he opened NJWeedman's Joint and Liberty Bell Temple III, a combination "restaurant and spiritual sanctuary" across from City Hall in Trenton, New Jersey, to reach out to the local marijuana and arts communities. NJWeedman allowed local musicians to record music in his building, allowed artists to paint and graffiti on the building, and hosted events to clothe and feed the homeless in Trenton.

On March 5, 2016, hundreds of Temple attendees were inside the Liberty Bell Temple for "midnight mass," when Trenton Police raided the Temple and forced everyone out because business hours in the city ended at 11:00 P.M. NJWeedman filed an injunction in federal court to keep his religious temple open beyond 11:00 because it was a church and not a business.

On April 19, 2016, NJWeedman was held in prison for several days, missing the April 20 Trenton State House Smoke-Out.

On April 27, 2016, NJWeedman's building is raided by the Trenton Police and the Mercer County Narcotics Task Force. Officials claimed an undercover agent went into NJWeedman's building in March and claimed to have purchased cannabis from someone inside. NJWeedman was arrested during the raid for the second time in a week, along with more than 10 other persons who were inside his building. NJWeedman gained international fame when he bailed out of prison the following day and announced his intention to fight the raid case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. He called himself "conviction proof" and said the Trenton Police "exaggerated" the charges against him in the raid, which even managed to land Weedman in the London Press.

NJWeedman was arrested at his business on May 13, 2016. He was accused of "cyber-bullying" a Trenton Officer on May 10, when NJWeedman relaunched his business opening, following the April 27 raid. Yet, Weedman relaunched his business by standing on the sidewalk and holding up a sign that read, "We R Open. Fuck The Police." Trenton Police parked outside the building, and issued a citation to an employee for throwing a cigarette-butt on the ground. NJWeedman said he was only practicing his right to free speech and political expression. Then NJWeedman accused a Trenton officer of being a "pedophile." A video of NJWeedman saying this to the officer was supposedly uploaded by someone else, but it was Weedman who was charged with "cyber-bullying" the Trenton cop on May 13. After the officer charged NJWeedman for cyber-bullying, Attorney Edward Heyburn offered his services pro bono. NJWeedman even received vocal support that he would easily beat the charges in his case from a NJ-ACLU senior staff member as well as from UCLA law professor and Washington Post website blogger Eugene Volokh.

References

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