One of the scheduled speakers at our convention, NJ Weedman, has been arrested. NJ Weedman, whose real name is Robert Edward Forchion, Jr., was recently unanimously found Not Guilty by a jury in Mount Holly for distribution. He was however found guilty of marijuana possession. Right after his trial the DEA called and threatened The Weedman, demanding that he close up his California dispensary.
Ed had plans to tour around speaking at various events on a “Jury Nullification tour”, our convention being one of the first speaking opportunities for the tour.
My life was saved by Jury Nullification and I want to give back to society by helping other marijuana defendants across the country. Enlightening the local public to a Constitutional tool for “WE THE PEOPLE” to win this war on drugs with legalization!
In December of 2012, NJ Weedman filed a lawsuit against the San Bernadino Sheriff Department for their December 2010 actions. On December 17th, 2010 the San Bernadino County Sheriff Department seized 422 marijuana plants from his grow operation in Los Angeles County operating under The Liberty Bell Temple, Inc. His grow operation was legal in Los Angeles. The San Bernadino Sheriff had neither jurisdiction nor the law on their side when they seized his plants. No charges were ever filed against the NJ Weedman nor the Liberty Bell Temple, Inc. in this case.
On January 16th he was sentenced to two years probation for the possession charge. On January 30th he was in the process of traveling to Los Angeles for his bone cancer treatment when he was arrested at the Philadelphia airport just before boarding a plane. On his website he stated his intentions of appealing this sentence. He had either 20 or 30 days time in which to file the appeal, however his arrest was only fourteen days after his sentencing. Unfortunately due to his confinement he most likely will not be able to appeal his sentence.
He is still being held at the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center. They have not been allowing any visitors. His extradition/preliminary hearing is on Monday February 11th at 9:00 AM before Judge Paula Patrick. His bail as been set at $200,000 with a 10% option.
I'm not sure what the best way of making donations to his plight may be. I'm aware of two options:
- via the Access Corrections Service. His inmate number is 911002. They charge a ransom of $5.95 for each transaction. You need to create an account on their site and then perform an inmate search using his inmate number. This is the method I used.
- directly via Robert Ed Forchion's Wells Fargo account. Deposit money directly into his account, 5533893672.
While I can't travel to Philadelphia on Tuesday, I will be following and reporting on the results of the hearing.