AT LEAST THE 'WEED MAN' IS HONEST. OR IS HE?

"Stop right there," barked the officer stationed next to the X-ray
machine at the entrance to 1 Police Plaza.

"You can't bring that in here."

The item in question was a hand-painted sign with a decidedly
non-law-enforcement-friendly message.

"HELP!" it read in bright green letters. "I NEED MONEY FOR
WEED!"

Its owner made a sour face and started to protest, but it became clear
his efforts would be futile.

"Just leave it outside somewhere," the officer shrugged. As the man
scurried out to find a suitable stash spot, the officer rolled his
eyes.

The visitor to Police Headquarters on Wednesday afternoon was none
other than the Weed Man of Times Square, a 29-year-old North Carolina
native who has spent the better part of the last year standing outside
the Planet Hollywood on Broadway collecting dollar bills from
tourists, many of whom block the sidewalk to crowd around him for
group pictures.

The Weed Man, ne Joshua Long, hurried back to the visitor's entrance,
the offending sign now slightly hidden near some police barricades. He
took off his studded belt, with its rhinestone-encrusted marijuana
leaf buckle, and placed it in the plastic bin as instructed.

It was a routine Mr. Long was familiar with. The previous Friday
brought what he believed was his 14th arrest for plying his trade
(vending without a license, according to the officers, though he does
not really vend anything except his presence). He was also hit with a
disorderly conduct charge stemming from his behavior during the
encounter, he said.

On Wednesday, he was back to claim property that had been confiscated
during the arrest, which included $80, his cellphone and another sign
bearing the same message.

"It's just like any other job," Mr. Long explained during an interview
conducted in the lobby of Police Headquarters. A plastic Starbucks cup
filled with loose bills and change jutted out of his pocket. While
there were certain work-related hazards - the arrests, for example -
Mr. Long said he could pull in $200 during a four-or five-hour shift.

"It's very lucrative," he said. "It surprises even me
sometimes."

There is one thing Mr. Long said he did not spend his hard-earned
money on. That would be weed.

Mr. Long had been an occasional smoker until about three months ago,
he said, when he realized he needed to cut it out to focus on a
budding career in real estate. He added that he recently passed a
licensing exam and that his stint in Times Square allowed him to
network with prospective clients.

"It's not about the drugs," he said, pot-leaf belt still in hand.
"It's really the laugh factor."