Charges against pot advocate NJ Weedman downgraded, dropped

TRENTON, N.J. – Charges in three pending cases against a New Jersey marijuana advocate dubbed NJ Weedman have been downgraded or dismissed.

Ed Forchion was acquitted last month of witness tampering in a retrial in Mercer County. The charges stemmed from a narcotics raid at his Trenton eatery. He streamed his March 2017 arrest live on Facebook and denied the charges.

Mercer County prosecutors said Wednesday they reviewed Forchion’s pending cases and decided a downgrade and dismissal of the charges was appropriate given “the recent shift in the climate of marijuana legislation in New Jersey as well as the changes in state law with regard to bail reform.”

Prosecutors say some narcotics counts and a cyber-harassment charge were downgraded to disorderly person offences while other counts were dismissed.