Weedman For Governor

One should take nothing about politics seriously. Just view it as a great show, in the spirit of H. L. Mencken who, when asked why he stayed in America when he disliked so much about it, said "Why do men go to zoos?"

Speaking of zoos, a friend drew my attention to the region's other major election in 2005: governor of New Jersey, a state which, as Jimmy Breslin once observed, is the last hope of organized crime. A delightful aspect of Garden State politics is the ease with which a candidate can be placed on the ballot: a mere 800 signatures for statewide office, as opposed to 7,500 signatures for mayor of New York. This means anyone can run, as opposed to New York where the field is limited to professional politicians and wealthy men. Winning, as any degenerate gambler knows, has nothing to do with the pleasure of the game.

Parenthetically, champions of New York's draconian election law argue its high signature requirements for ballot access protect us from frivolous candidates, an argument that only a New York State legislator could make with a straight face. At any rate, the law protects New Yorkers from the risk of confusing frivolous candidates with serious ones, such as the kind of people who have led us to where we are today.

Back in June, the New Jersey Democratic Party's machine candidate, U.S. Senator Jon Corzine (who won his seat in 2000 with $62 million of his own money), overwhelmed his two primary opponents. One of them, Francis X. Tenaglio, a teacher and former state legislator, advocated state-financed universal health insurance coverage. He came in third. The fellow who came in second, James D. Kelly Jr., resides in a group home for the mentally ill in Chester.

Yet all is not lost. A patriot is rolling to the rescue: Edward Forchion, also known as NJWeedman, gubernatorial candidate of the Legalize Marijuana Party. He has been running for Congress, State Assembly, and County Freeholder for the last decade on his platform of marijuana legalization. Last year, he simultaneously polled 4,544 votes for Congress-the most of any third party candidate in New Jersey-and 2,810 for Burlington County freeholder.

Forchion has been somewhat famous in the Garden State since 1997, when he was arrested while allegedly assisting in the transport of 40 pounds of marijuana. Paroled after serving 16 months, he was rearrested for advocating marijuana legalization while on parole. After five months' imprisonment, a federal judge granted his application for a writ of habeas corpus, holding that the New Jersey authorities had effectively punished Forchion for exercising his free speech rights.

Forchion, however, loves to push the envelope. In 2000, he entered the State Assembly chambers, stripped down to prison garb, and lit a marijuana cigarette. This had some consequences beyond the inevitable headline, "JOINT LEGISLATIVE SESSION," such as more than 30 arrests, several imprisonments, probation (including repeated urine tests, all of which he passed), and ongoing child custody battles.

He believes himself a marked man because he has followed Bob Marley's teaching to stand up for his rights, particularly against society's intolerance of his religious beliefs. A professed Rastafarian, Forchion claims that marijuana is a blessed sacrament. As a Catholic, I understand this devotion. My religious leaders constantly encourage me to partake of the Blessed Sacrament. Ed Forchion doesn't even have the Monsignor ranting at him from the pulpit every week. Maybe he's just driven by individual religious fervor.

Forchion's new campaign webpage opens with a parody one dollar bill, the dreadlocked, bearded Forchion elegantly dressed in George Washington's ruffled shirt and frock coat, between the lines "NJWeedman for Governor" and "The Patriot's Choice." It contains some striking photographs of his misadventures (my favorite is Forchion blowing smoke in the face of a state trooper as the cop's gloved hand reaches for him). Some parts may reflect questionable judgment. For example, he might have thought twice about posting an enthusiastic, if not robust, description of a local judge's personal and professional shortcomings along with the judge's photograph, subtly retouched to replace his head with a steaming pile of excrement, under the heading "SHITHEAD SWEENEY."

But between the anger and eccentricity shines an offbeat patriotism, best caught, perhaps, in a 1999 campaign photograph. Forchion, grinning, is flipping the bird at someone off camera. The caption reads, "This is America: I can say what I want." Crude or childish? Perhaps. But the message summarizes a major part of the American idea that far outweighs the image's vulgarity. Few of us have spent five months in jail for political speech that a judge found protected by the First Amendment. Part of being a patriot sometimes involves just being a pain in the ass to the authorities, and perhaps the Founding Fathers (many of whom, as Forchion points out, raised marijuana plants) might just have found NJWeedman a true patriot. -William Bryk