Jury Nullification vs. The Drug War: NJ Weedman on His Unlikely Marijuana Acquittal
"I should be 10 months into a 10-year prison sentence," says Ed Forchion aka NJ Weedman. "The only reason I'm standing here is because I happened to know about jury nullification. And I used it."
NJ Weedman, a medical marijuana patient fighting bone cancer and a pot legalization advocate, found himself in trouble after being pulled over by a New Jersey state trooper with more than a pound of marijuana in his possession, as well as a large sum of cash. This was sufficient to trigger a "possession with intent to distribute" charge, and he faced up to a decade in prison if convicted. Because he represented himself and argued not for his innocence but against the morality of the law itself, NJ Weedman believes he was acquitted by "jury nullification." He was, however, found guilty of the lesser charge of "possession," for which he served a probationary term.
NJ Weedman sat down with Reason TV's Zach Weissmueller to talk about marijuana legalization, drug courts, and jury nullification and to give advice to others facing similar drug charges.
"I think by representing myself and speaking for myself, I put myself into a different category," says NJ Weedman. "I actually begged [the jury] to save my life."
Approximately 10 minutes. Camera by Sharif Matar and Paul Detrick.
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