TRENTON -- Ed Forchion, a pro-marijuana activist known as "NJ Weedman," has been indicted by a Mercer County grand jury on 11 drug charges related to his operation of a restaurant and adjacent cannabis church, acting Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo Onofri announced Tuesday.
File photo of Ed "NJ Weedman" Forchion (Michael Mancuso | For NJ.com)
Forchion, 52, faces multiple possession and drug distribution charges as well as counts of maintaining a narcotics nuisance and maintaining a fortified structure.
He remains free on bail and is scheduled to appear in Mercer County Superior Court on Aug. 11.
The indictment follows an investigation by the Mercer County Narcotics Task Force. Forchion was arrested April 27 along with 10 other people after a raid of his restaurant, NJ Weedman's Joint, and an adjacent cannabis church on East State Street.
Police seized more than $19,000 worth of marijuana.
Authorities say Forchion also faces charges of possessing and distributing marijuana on other dates in March and April 2016.
Forchion on Tuesday said he is ready to fight and hopes Onofri prosecutes the case himself.
"I believe I'm conviction-proof," he said. "I don't think they'll get 12 people to vote guilty. Marijuana laws are a lie. ... They're designed to protect the white-only marijuana industry."
Cristina Rojas may be reached at crojas@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @CristinaRojasTT. Find NJ.com on Facebook.