POT CANDIDATE REMAINS ON BALLOT

Voters in Burlington County and the First Congressional District will have
the opportunity to vote for Legalize Marijuana candidate Edward Forchion
even though he may be headed to jail.

Forchion pleaded guilty last month to arranging a deal for 40 pounds of
cannabis. Two days after his guilty plea he was arrested in Strawberry
Mansion after buying three ounces of marijuana. He said the Philadelphia
arrest was "a sign from God" that he should not have pleaded guilty, and he
asked the Public Defender's Office in Trenton to enter a motion to withdraw
his guilty plea. Forchion, who acknowledges he does not have a chance of
getting elected, wanted to remain on the ballot to draw attention to his
issue but feared the guilty plea would prevent him.

But the State Attorney General's Election Division ruled Forchion is
eligible to stay on the ballot until he is sentenced. That isn't scheduled
until December.