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Edward Forchion, in 2019, Legalize Marijuana Party 2005 New Jersey Governor nominee
Forchion was nominated by petition to run for Governor of New Jersey in 2005. He received 9,137 votes. While Forchion was campaigning for governor, his home in Pemberton Township was vandalized, August 25, during the night by someone who spray-painted a 6-foot cross together with the words “Get Jesus.” Burlington County police investigated the incident, calling it a hate crime because Forchion is a person of color. But Forchion told reporters that he thought he had been targeted because of his Rastafari religious beliefs, not because he is African American.
Forchion ran for Camden County Freeholder in 1999, and Burlington County Freeholder in 2000. In a bid for Burlington County Freeholder in 2004, Forchion got 2,932 votes.
In 2014, Forchion, otherwise known as NJWeedman, filed a lawsuit in an attempt to get onto the ballot in New Jersey's 3rd congressional district. A judge dismissed the lawsuit.
Sheibley, Lauri (August 26, 2005). "Police Investigating an Apparent Hate Crime". Burlington County Times. Marijuana activist Ed Forchion says his family woke up yesterday morning to find someone had spray-painted a 6-foot cross on the side of his house with the words "Get Jesus." Police are investigating the incident as an apparent hate crime. Forchion, who once tried to have his name changed to NJ Weedman, said his wife and children discovered the cross and message at 7 a.m. on the garage door of their Hanover Boulevard home. First Assistant Burlington County Prosecutor Ray Milavsky said police are investigating the incident as a bias crime, which is defined as one in which a victim is targeted because of race, religion, sexual orientation or national origin. Forchion, who is black, said he does not view the cross as a racial threat. Instead, he said he sees it as a protest against his religion. Forchion is a follower of Rastafarianism, a religious movement that arose in Jamaica in the 1950s. Followers use marijuana as a sacrament.
