IT'S NO TOKE: 'WEEDMAN' QUITS POT: ACTIVIST GIVING UP THE BONG BUT NOT
THE FAITH

TRENTON -- The Weedman is going straight.

No more hits on a bong. No more toking on a joint. No more marijuana.

That's right Robert Edward "Weedman" Forchion, 41, of Pemberton, says he
has quit smoking pot and is headed for the straight and narrow.

"I am Weedlessman now," Forchion said in a telephone interview yesterday.
"And it doesn't have anything to do with me changing my mind on the
substance, but I got a job I really like now."

Forchion says he has cut out his marijuana use since getting a job back in
May. At first he quit to take a drug test for the job, but then he decided
to just quit altogether.

"It's been more than two months since I smoked (pot), but I had slowed down
before that," he said.

Forchion explained his wife and children played a big role in his decision.

"A lot of this has to do with my family," Forchion said.

"Every time I get arrested my wife has to come bail me out. It's been a lot
on my family."

Forchion, a Rastafarian by faith and a pro-marijuana legalization activist,
was fired from a job about this time last year after, he says, his bosses
mistakenly thought he took part in an anti-gay protest against former Gov.
Jim McGreevey outside the State House, and became aware of his religious
beliefs and political views.

Those that adhere to the teachings of the Rastafarian religion believe that
smoking marijuana is a sacrament similar to the Jewish and Christian use of
wine.

Although still very much a follower of the Rastafarian religion, Forchion
now says he is concerned about keeping the job he has come to love with an
understanding that arrests and other run-ins with the judicial system all
take a financial toll.

"I need to make money," Forchion said. "I've been poor for a long time."

He says the turning point in his decision to quit smoking came after his
arrest at the State House by New Jersey State troopers after he reportedly
refused to leave the building when his request to go to Press Row was denied.

Forchion was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest
and defiant trespass. He is now in the midst of a legal battle with the
arresting State Police officer.

A few weeks later, Forchion had another run-in with police officers at the
Jersey Shore. He was distributing information on the boardwalk for his
Legalize Marijuana Party. An officer told him to move because the boardwalk
was not public property. Forchion said he disagreed, but moved to a nearby
street corner but police were not satisfied and arrested him.

Forchion has made frequent runs for public office in the past, and now has
his sights set on another office. He wants to be governor of New Jersey and
admits that cutting out the marijuana use will help his candidacy.

"How can I campaign if every time I go out the police are coming after me,"
Forchion said. "I'm not going to take my name off the ballot, and I'm still
going to give the finger to the system."

Forchion says he will continue to push for his political views, but will
also remain concerned about his own safety.

"I know I'm right, but I don't want to end up dead right," Forchion said.
"I'm afraid one of these cops is going to shoot me, and then what? Oops.

"Most police officers understand free speech, but there are a few who
don't. Those are the ones who worry me."

Forchion's run-ins with the law have made headlines over the years.

In 1997, Forchion was arrested for possession of more than 40 pounds of pot.

He served 17 months of a 10-year prison sentence and was released in April
2002. He was thrown back in jail four months later after he produced a
pro-marijuana commercial but was released because a judge determined the
commercial was protected by his First Amendment rights.

In 2000, Forchion took his cause to the state's General Assembly and made a
point by lighting up a joint inside the Assembly Chamber as the legislative
body was in session. He was never prosecuted.

"I think I'm pretty much done with it," Forchion said. "I'm not going to
give the police reason to arrest for no reason."