A longtime New Jersey weed activist is suing Trenton’s mayor, claiming city police harassed him after he started projecting a sign onto City Hall that says the local government “sucks.”
Ed “NJ Weedman” Forchion claims the harassment by Trenton police began in March when officers started issuing him tickets for keeping his restaurant open late, though he said he was in compliance with the law.
Forchion, who owns NJWeedman’s Joint, a restaurant on East State Street across from City Hall, operates his eatery like a late-night diner, keeping it open past 2 a.m.
Since March, the local activist has been projecting a “Batman-like signal“ onto the city administration building at night with the message, ”Our City Government Sucks,“ according to the lawsuit.
He projected the sign to call out the city for allegedly delaying and sabotaging Forchion’s efforts to obtain a cannabis license for nearly two years, blocking him from operating licensed weed dispensaries, according to court documents.
“It’s not vandalism, it’s not it’s nothing permanent and it is the truest form of free speech,” Forchion said of the projected sign on Monday.
Police retaliated against Forchion by issuing him tickets for keeping his restaurant open late, arresting patrons and towing cars outside his business, the lawsuit alleges.
“The city responded by having the police come and harass me every Thursday, Friday and Saturday, when I was trying to be open,” Forchion said.
The alleged harassment continued for 29 weeks, leading to an estimated loss of up to $15,000 in potential revenue each weekend, according to Forchion, who claims his restaurant is busiest late at night.
Wesley Bridges, the city’s attorney, said Tuesday the Trenton mayor and administration have not been hostile toward Forchion and do not have an issue with him. Police stopped issuing him tickets once officials learned he did have the right to keep his business open 24 hours.
Trenton also passed a resolution supporting Forchion’s cannabis license application last year, according to Bridges. However, he’s currently stalled by a state rule barring him from moving forward because a family member already holds a license, city officials said. The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission has the final say on licensing.
“We have really tried to support his efforts to become legal,” Bridges said. “That decision is now beyond the City of Trenton.”
For years before weed was legalized in New Jersey in 2021, Forchion was a well-known local advocate for the cause. His restaurant opened in 2015, and attached to it is what he describes as a “cannabis temple,” where people can gather and smoke weed.
Police have previously tried to close the “temple.” Under a different city administration in 2018, Trenton attempted to shut down his business over late-night violations, Forchion said. That led to a raid on his restaurant, his arrest on drug charges and additional witness tampering charges that kept him jailed for over 400 days, he said.
After a court battle confirmed his right to operate after hours under a city ordinance, Forchion was released.
Over five years later, Forchion said police again issued him tickets for the same alleged violations. In the lawsuit, he argues his business is located in Trenton’s downtown entertainment district — not a residential area — and is entitled to stay open late under the city’s rules.
After he filed the lawsuit last month, city officials reviewed the ordinance, which was created over a decade ago, and agreed Forchion could remain open 24 hours, Bridges said.
However, the administration plans to revisit this rule and consider whether any downtown business should be able to operate all night, according to Bridges.
The city’s only issue with Forchion’s businesses, Bridges added, is its alleged illegal operations, which affect legal cannabis businesses and result in revenue losses for Trenton.
Despite the city now allowing his restaurant to operate 24 hours, Forchion said Monday he will not drop his lawsuit and plans to continue using his projected sign to criticize the government.
Trenton officials had not responded to the lawsuit in court as of Tuesday.
“They damaged me,” Forchion said of the late-night shutdown of his restaurant. “This was a way of me making money, and they disrupted it and they were wrong in their interpretation of the rules.”
Stories by Nyah Marshall
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