THE WEEDMAN LEAVETH The Weedman is hoping the grass is greener on the other shore. Ed Forchion - the deadlocked marijuana-legalization activist possibly best known for amassing more than 9,000 votes in a $370 gubernatorial campaign to forward his so-called "reefer revolution" - has moved from Pemberton to California. "I had a whole bunch of things happen to me," Forchion said Tuesday, just days after he left New Jersey for the Sunshine State. "I had a string of bad luck." Forchion, who once tried to change his name to NJWeedman.com, has often claimed persecution at the hands of authorities who don't like his pro-marijuana message. But Forchion said while repeated clashes with law enforcement have weighed him down, it was a family court matter that ultimately prompted him to leave town. The self-proclaimed Weedman said he recently lost visitation rights for one of his children. That, coupled with recent problems with his truck and "a bunch of bad luck," left Forchion looking very seriously at a job offer to manage a facility selling medicinal marijuana in California. "I would have went earlier. I got offered this before," Forchion said. "But now I said 'I'm outta here.'" Forchion claims the visitation decision, as well as a slew of other legal problems over the years, comes down to his outspokenness. He said he's been a good father to his two other children. "This is the only thing I talk about, legalization," he said. "But I'm good to my kids. Ask the teachers. My son plays football. My daughter's involved in things. Then, on the other hand, I have one daughter I'm just not allowed to see. It all just got to me." Though marijuana is only legal for medicinal purposes in California, a purchaser only needs a recommendation from a doctor, not a prescription. While that's still a hair away from all-out legalization, Forchion didn't anticipate a future of activism. "There's no need. I don't know what to say. I'm happy," he said. "Last Thursday, I got this job. Eventually, I'll have my family out here. And I won't be treated like a criminal just for talking." Forchion will be back in New Jersey soon enough. He's got a court date March 23, for charges stemming from a confrontation that occurred recently Trenton, when he was distributing pro-legalization flyers. "I'm going to fly in to deal with that and fly out," Forchion said. "By summertime, everything should be good."
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