NJ WEEDMAN FACES TRESPASSING CHARGES

TRENTON - Edward Forchion, the Pemberton Township resident and marijuana
proponent better known by the self-ascribed moniker NJ Weedman, was
arrested inside the State House building yesterday afternoon on his way to
tell news reporters about his intention to run for governor, officials said.

Forchion, 40, of Browns Mills, never got past the New Jersey State Police
troopers who guard the State House complex. Troopers arrested Forchion
after he refused to leave the building after being told press row was not
open to the public, state police spokesman Sgt. Gerald Lewis said.

He was charged with resisting, defiant trespass and improper behavior.

Although the state police say press row is not a publicly accessible area,
State House-based reporters say that members of the public routinely visit
the area to pitch stories.

Forchion's fight to legalize marijuana on Rastafarian religious grounds has
taken him to several arenas in the past decade, from running for a number
of political offices, including Congress, to firing up marijuana joints in
public.

In March 2000, Forchion smoked marijuana in the State House's Assembly
chambers during a session and was arrested by state troopers.

Forchion was being held last night on $40,000 bail at the Trenton Police
Department lockup.