Of all the legal battles he's fought over the years, Ed Forchion said the Supreme Court denial stings the most.
TRENTON -- NJ Weedman will not be going to the country's highest court.
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court distributed Ed "NJ Weedman" Forchion's appeal to the court's justices for consideration.
And Forchion and his lawyer held out hope - a very slim one they admitted - that a few of the justice's would want to hear the case, which argued several marijuana legalization points.
But on Monday, the Supreme Court denied the petition, a writ of certiorari.
"Just nothing. Major disappointment," Forchion said.
Of all the legal battles he's fought over the years, Forchion said the Supreme Court's denial stings the most. He really through a marijuana case like his is ripe for the country's top court to argue.
"That bothers me more than anything," Forchion said. "I put six years into that."
The writ of certiorari, or review of a lower court's decision, in Forchion's case stemmed from his 2010 marijuana possession arrest and later conviction in Burlington County.
His filing made 10 legal arguments, ranging from Forchion's belief that marijuana laws are discriminatory to African Americans, to marijuana as a religious sacrament for Rastafarians, as well as medical marijuana arguments.
The Supreme Court receives anywhere from 7,000 to 10,000 certiorari petitions for each term and hears just 80 to 100 of them.
NJ Weedman taunts police outside his restaurant (VIDEO)
Forchion said while the 2010 Burlington County case was heard by a New Jersey appeals court last year, upholding the conviction, he and his lawyer are considering filing for post conviction relief, another type of state appeal in the case.
And the Weedman, as he is also widely known, has other court dates ahead of him.
He is free on bail from marijuana charges lodged against him in late April by Mercer County authorities stemming from the raid of his restaurant and temple in Trenton.
Forchion is charged with 13 counts of marijuana possession and distribution, having a fortified premises, two counts of paraphernalia possession and maintaining a narcotics nuisance, prosecutors said.
The raid followed a two-month investigation in his restaurant, NJ Weedman's Joint, and the accompanying Liberty Bell Temple next door, which he has described as a cannabis church.
Forchion also has been arrested and ticketed by Trenton police since the raids, he said, once in connection with a public confrontation with city officers outside his restaurant on May 10.
Saying he was drumming up business, Forchion held a sign that read "We-R-Open. F--- the Police" and when a police unit passed by and stopped, the Weedman yelled: "F--- you. F--- you" and "Get out of my face."
Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@kevintshea. Find NJ.com on Facebook.