Ed "NJ Weedman" Forchion filed a lawsuit against the city and last month, the city hit back with a motion to dismiss
TRENTON - New Jersey's resident "Weedman" and the city he lives in have been locked in a legal battle for two months - and last month the Weedman took his first hit.
In March, Ed "NJ Weedman" Forchion filed a complaint against the city and their police department regarding his eatery-cannabis temple on East State Street.
Last month, they fired back with a motion to dismiss his suit and they urged the judge to deny a preliminary injunction motion Forchion had filed.
The beginnings of the civil case came only weeks before police raided the temple and arrested Forchion and ten other people as part of an unrelated criminal investigation last week.
In the initial civil complaint in March, Forchion, an outspoken marijuana legalization activist, said that police routinely unfairly close his establishment at night. Police often shut down "Weedman's joint" at 11 p.m. in accordance with a city ordinance that mandates businesses must be closed at that time.
"We are not a business, but a temple. We are open 24 hours," Forchion, who is representing himself, wrote in his complaint. In March he requested a preliminary injunction to keep the police department from continuing to close down his joint.
But Trenton and their police department disagree with Forchion's assertion that his place is a religious temple.
Just last month, they filed a motion to dismiss his claims and his request for an injunction, according to documents recently obtained by the Trenton Times.
In the motion, the city takes issue first with Forchion's plans to represent himself. They claim that the temple must be represented by an individual. Forchion can only represent himself in court. He cannot represent the temple, which is a separate entity, according to the motion.
Forchion said Thursday that he has been in talks with a Philadelphia lawyer who could represent the temple.
Weedman's trip as a marijuana advocate
The city also claims that Forchion's request does not meet the necessary requirements for injunctive relief. It is not in the public's best interest and denying the injunction would not cause irreparable harm, the motion said.
They also called into question the validity of Forchion's establishment as a "religious temple."
They included a document from Zoning Officer Raymond Bucchi who says he sent Forchion a letter saying that his property is zoned for a restaurant, not a church. He added that Forchion has not requested approval for his establishment to be labeled a church.
In their motion, the city also said Weedman's Joint was the site of a lot of late night activity, including people coming and going at 3-4 a.m., loud music in the early morning, a theft and one instance where a woman left the restaurant with chicken around 1 a.m. the morning.
In one complaint the city claims they responded to a street fight in front of the establishment and found 30 people outside. That's a claim that Forchion denies, saying two people came into his establishment "acting weird" and that he quickly turned them away. The street fight happened on Stockton Street, he said.
"It wasn't here. It absolutely wasn't here," he added.
In response to the late hours complaint, Forchion said that since his establishment is a religious place, he is able to serve food for free and stay open at all hours of the night. He added that he grew up in a Baptist church and claims religious organizations are able to serve food to the congregation past 11 p.m.
The list of complaints starts in mid January and continues through into one late night March complaint when, the motion says, Forchion yelled to police that they were "wasting valuable resources."
Forchion said Thursday that he plans to oppose their motion with his own motion, which he said he's filing Friday. He added that he has video surveillance of his establishment - some of which police took in a raid last week. He has since spoken about the raid and the items - including his cameras - that he says were stolen.
"Plaintiffs have properly and accurately depicted the harassment and religious infringement as political," he wrote in a motion. He went to to say that police and the city have inaccurately represented his establishment, which he calls a place of "peace and love."
Anna Merriman may be reached at amerriman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @anna_merriman Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.