The temple is a "cannabis church" and police shutting it down at night is a religious freedom violation, Ed Forchion claims. Watch video
TRENTON -- Marijuana activist Ed Forchion says he's been cultivating a presence on East State Street in Trenton since opening his eatery last year, NJ Weedman's Joint, and his sanctuary next door, the Liberty Bell Temple.
Customers who munch at the restaurant during the day often come by at night to smoke some weed in the temple, which Forchion says is a "cannabis church."
"I'm building up a nice little community of peaceful potheads," Forchion said Thursday.
But since late February, Trenton police have shut the temple down at 11 p.m. some nights, enforcing a city ordinance that requires some establishments to close down at 11 p.m.
The police are closing a church, Forchion argues, which is a violation of his religious freedoms.
And so Forchion, who often goes by the name NJ Weedman, and is one of New Jersey's best known marijuana legalization advocates, is going to court to fight the police actions.
Forchion filed a complaint against the Trenton police in U.S. District Court in Trenton Wednesday, asking for an injunction against the agency, a jury trial and $1 million in damages.
"Our temple is an alternative religious organization that keeps night hours - we cater to a late night congregation," Forchion wrote in the complaint. "We are not a business, but a temple. We are open 24 hours."
Forchion says the police have sent several officers each time, and he suspects that his marijuana views - and the known fact that he smokes at the location - have caused the police to unfairly target him.
The location, across from Trenton's City Hall, is desolate at night and the only people present are going to his church, and they cause no problems, he says.
"The police are creating the problem, I am not creating the problem," he said.
Trenton police spokesman Lt. Stephen Varn said the department is only heeding the complaints of residents, and enforcing the city ordinance.
Varn said police have received "numerous citizens complaints" from the area and this past weekend, officers responded and found numerous parking violations.
Varn said officers entered the temple, spoke with Forchion, and the location was shut down for the night. "As far as his claim into the location being a church or a sanctuary, we are currently investigating those claims," he said.
The city police, Forchion said, should target some of the bars in Trenton instead of him because potheads are peaceful. "We are not a bunch of drunken hooligans," he said.
'NJ Weedman' lights up at council after pot resolution dies
All of this attention - Forchion said he really did not want it, as things have been going smoothly since he opened his place last summer - came as prepared for his petition the U.S. Supreme Court for another matter.
"That's the real issue, for me," he said, with a copy of the petition.
On Monday, Forchion and his lawyers filed the petition - a certiorari - hoping the country's high court will hear his case and overturn his 2010 marijuana possession conviction in Burlington County.
Forchion claims he has a medical necessity for the pot and that criminalizing the possession of marijuana violates his rights under the U.S. and New Jersey constitutions. A state appellate panel, in its 31-page decision last year, didn't agree and upheld his conviction.
A perennial candidate, Forchion has run for Senate and governor in New Jersey on his marijuana platform, he's also lit up marijuana in public as demonstration.
In November, in the Trenton City Council chamber, he fired up a joint and repeatedly called council members "cowards" after a resolution that would have backed the legalization of marijuana died on the floor.
It's official the City action of the Police has forced me to file a statute 1983 lawsuit against the City. I've... https://t.co/Rfxc4tZuiU
-- NJ Weedman (@NJweedman) March 9, 2016
Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@kevintshea. Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.