A MAN PROTESTING DRUGS LAWS LIT A MARIJUANA CIGARETTE IN THE STATE'S
ASSEMBLY CHAMBERS.

The smell of marijuana smoke wafted through the state's Assembly chambers
Thursday afternoon after a man protesting his religious rights fired up a
joint. Edward "njweedman" Forchion, 35, stripped down to a halloween prison
suit outfit before pulling the stunt.

"I'm not a criminal. The laws is wrong" he procliamed as he was being led
away by NJ State Police. Forchion, a browns Mills residence who goes by the
nickname "njweedman" said he is a practitioner of the Rastafari religion
and that marijuana is a necessary sacrament to its practice.

Before he was arrested, Forchion said outside the chamber that he has grown
tires of watching two religious freedom bills languish in the Assembly and
the Senate. The Assembly bill, introduced before the 1998 session, does not
allow for any controlled substance to be used as part of religion; the
Senate bill, introduced last December, does not contian the restrictive
language.

Forchion lit the reefer after Assembly-floor St. Patrick's Day festivities,
including a speech by former Hamilton Mayor Jack Rafferty. Rafferty said
that when the irish and other ethnic groups first came to America, they
were oppressed by the powers that be.

"Without sprit, without resolve, you can't overcome," Rafferty said,
unintentionally providing Forchion with a poetic and prophetic
introduction. After Forchion started puffing away, people started
frantically waving to police officers.

Some what incredibly, Forchion got through half the joint before the police
swooped in - and then he promptly swallowed it. "I assume that was
marijuana," said one of the officer's outside the chambers. "NO COMMENT,"
replied Forchion, who was arrested, charged with use of marijuana,
hindering apprehension and improper behavior and release pending a March 24
hearing in Trenton Municipal Court. This was not the first time that
Forchion used marijuana to get into the public eye. In 1998, he ran an
unsuccessful bid for Congress, running under the "legalize Marijuana Party"
ticket. Somewhat improbably, he received over 3,000 votes.

The herb "ganja" is a religious sacrament," Forchion said in a prepared
text. "Much the sameway the grape (wine) is to Christian/Catholic."
Forchion said he became a convert to the religion of Rastafari six years ago.

"If I became a born-again Christian, everybody would think I was a great
guy." Forchion said. "But I embraced Rastafari and in doing so I became a
criminal."