LOOK WHO'S TALKING: "WEEDMAN" BURNING UP THE SCENE

On the nickname...

These Mexican guys in Arizona, where I was buying weed, gave me the
nickname. But every single community has a "weedman." I'm just being a
little vain by claiming the whole state. And the local "weedman" is
usually regarded as a positive. They're laid back and cool, not into
violence, just providing a service. The thugs on the corner? They're
not "weedmen." They're drug dealers.

On his year-plus prison stretch for conspiracy charges...

I was almost like a celebrity. Not one fight, not one confrontation,
even the guards treated me good, gave me run of the library. I'm in
prison, and everyone's calling me the Weedman. And there was weed in
prison, and honestly, that's the only time people got mad at me,
because I wouldn't smoke while I was in there. You get caught, the
first thing they take away is your visitation rights, and my kids were
visiting me every week.

On getting busted in the first place...

It's what turned me into an activist. It's what started the Web site.
The War on Drugs created me. You have to remember -- the vast majority
of potheads never get busted.

Concerning his Web site, NJweedman.com...

I think it helped get me out of prison, for starters. Raised
awareness. Plus, people know me now. I'm a bit of a celebrity. I just
got back from speaking at Ohio State University, and also at the
Seattle HempFest. I've gone to conferences all over the country.

On his skills playing with the law...

I always thought lawyers had to be super-smart. I don't think that's
true anymore. I wish I could have been a lawyer. I love it. I love
finding a case, being able to draw the parallels, use it as precedent.
It's a rush.

On his parents...

I was 15 when I first got busted for smoking weed by my parents. And
to this day my mother is against it, and just wishes I would shut up
about it. But when I was a kid, both my parents were into the Black
Power movement. I had Swahili lessons! But through reading about black
history, well, it had a big effect on me, especially with
Christianity. It was forced on the slaves, and I decided I didn't want
to be Christian. I went towards Islam for a while, but that faded
also. I am a Rastafarian.

On the "real" Forchion...

At the end of the day, I'm a dad, a citizen, and a peaceful, proud,
patriotic pothead.

On his fame...

It's cool, but sometimes I wish I could go back to being incog-negro.
But I'm getting more and more mainstream.

Bong, bowl or joint?

I'm a bowl guy. I have a nice little collection. I'm also a cannabis
connoisseur. A weed snob. And blunts? Why would you take good-tasting
marijuana and putting it in a smelly 50-cent cigar?

On the legalization movement...

Here in New Jersey, several assemblymen are trying to push medical
marijuana, and they're looked at as progressive. I'm looked at as a
wacko. But it's more than just weed -- that's my gimmick. The whole war
on drugs, people are dying all the time because of the war on drugs.
It's no different than the inquisition of the Middle Ages. Government
policy harms society more than the drugs.