The staggered sentence prevents Forchion from earning enough money to fly to California to receive the treatments, he said.
Edward Forchion, known as “NJ Weedman,” has asked Gov. Chris Christie to grant executive clemency and waive his unusual staggered prison term for marijuana use that prevents him from receiving medical treatment for cancerous tumors.
He reported to the Burlington County Jail to serve a 270-day staggered jail sentence earlier this year, with 20 20-day periods of incarceration separated by 10-day periods of release in order to allow Forchion to receive treatment for cancerous giant cell tumors in his legs.
Forchion, a marijuana activist for nearly 20 years, said the staggered prison term was hypocritical: He says he needs medical marijuana to ease the pain of his tumors, and he’ll go to California if he can to get it legally.
“I’m clearly a marijuana patient. The judge will let me out to go to California, knowing I’m going to get marijuana as soon as I walk out the door,” Forchion said. “I go to California, where I’m treated like a patient for a few days, then I have to turn around and go back to prison.”
The staggered sentence prevents Forchion from earning enough money to fly to California to receive the treatments, he said, and it doesn’t give him enough time to fit in MRIs, bone scans and other medical procedures.
“For whatever reason, the judge thinks it’s helping me, but it doesn’t do anything but hurt me,” Forchion said.
It’s not the first time medical marijuana activists have clamored for Christie to take action to improve medical marijuana access. In 2012, Christie declined requests to grant clemency to John Ray Wilson, 39, a Somerset man who was convicted of growing marijuana used to ease the symptoms of his multiple sclerosis.
But in September, Christie conceded to marijuana activists and signed a bill that allows sick children access to edible marijuana, calling the changes “common-sense recommendations to ensure sick children receive the treatment their parents prefer.”
Forchion said it’s unlikely the governor will go so far as to grant him clemency for his marijuana offense.
“I don’t expect him to grant it, but it’s one of my last options. Maybe public opinion can scream bloody murder, like they did with ‘Pot for Tots’ or with the John Ray Wilson case,” Forchion said.
A spokesman at Christie’s office did not return a call or e-mail seeking comment.
Forchion was charged with possession and distribution of marijuana after a 2010 motor vehicle stop in Evesham. A jury acquitted him of the distribution charge but convicted him of possession.
The day he was convicted, Forchion failed to report to the probation office — mistakenly assuming he could wait until an appeal was heard — and was later arrested for violating probation attached to the conviction.
In an accompanying six-page document with his clemency request, Forchion argues that his Geneva Convention rights were violated because of what happened to him after his arrest on the probation violation. He was put in jail and was unable to receive the type of medical care he says he needed. Forchion said he missed two scheduled cancer treatments. He later pleaded guilty only because of the need to seek treatment, he said.
“We’re fighting a drug war and, if you’re arrested, you should be classified as a prisoner of war,” Forchion said. “The Geneva Convention was designed to protect prisoners of war, and I feel like one.”
Contact Mike Davis at (609) 989-5708 or mdavis@njtimes.com.
CONNECT WITH US:
On mobile or desktop:
• Like Times of Trenton on Facebook
• Follow @TimesofTrenton on Twitter