NJ Marijuana Activist Ed Forchion Officially Changes Website Name

It was once a nickname, a marketing gimmick that turned into a battle cry for marijuana freedom in the Garden State, but for 20 years Ed Forchion didn’t change his name to “NJWeedman.com “.

That changed, to his surprise, on Monday, October 17, when a Mercer County judge finally signed his motion. Forchion’s website, which he admittedly hasn’t updated much in recent years, is now his legal name.

“Honestly, I just don’t like losing,” Forchion 58 told the Inquirer on Thursday. “It always bothered me.”

NJWeedman.com, a longtime New Jersey marijuana legalization campaigner, expanded to Miami, Florida in 2021, opening a nightclub and, most recently, branching out into another business venture – Cannabis-themed cruises in the bay.

“Legal weed is coming here and it doesn’t need my help,” he said when the Inquirer visited him in Miami earlier this year. “I don’t have to be the ‘Florida Weedman’.”

NJWeedman.com began actively protesting marijuana laws in Trenton after spending 17 months in jail in the late 90s. He said he bought the website in 1998.

“Weedman.com was available but it was $100 and I didn’t have it,” he said.

The quest for the name change began in 2001. NJWeedman.com said law enforcement opposed the petition, saying it would set a bad precedent. He was beaten, then sent back to the state appeals court. Weedman tried again in California, where he had moved to open a Rastafarian temple, and was denied in 2011. Domain names, the court argued, don’t last forever.

NJWeedman.com said his latest push for the name change came from a slew of fake social media profiles opened under his name. As the owner of a marijuana dispensary in Trenton, along with the Miami club, he also wanted to solidify his marketing. He said he filed a new petition with the New Jersey courts “a few months ago.” He hadn’t expected such a quick decision.

“I was trying to brand myself. I wanted to be the McDonald’s of weed. There are guys everywhere making cannabis brands. Celebrities like Mike Tyson, but I put my blood and sweat and tears into it. “, he said. “There were a lot of impostors trying to use my name and my image to sell things.

NJWeedman.com said he expects close friends and family to always call him “Ed,” but otherwise leans heavily on the new name.

“Yeah, I’ll go into motor vehicles and social security,” he said. “I might even go down to the VA because I’m a veteran.”

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