TRENTON -- With chants like

"One! Two! Three! Four! Smoke, smoke, smoke some more!" a crowd of more than 100 people supporting the legalization of marijuana descended Saturday on the Statehouse in Trenton.

The "Spring Smoke Out" rally grew in intensity as it progressed through East State Street, culminating with the demonstration outside the Statehouse that included a few dozen people smoking marijuana in protest at 4:20 p.m.

"Who's ready to protest?" Ed "NJ Weedman" Forchion called out to the crowd, eliciting a chorus of cheers. "We are!"

"Who's ready to smoke? Who's ready to vote?" Forchion yelled. "We are!" the group responded, cheering louder than before.

Forchion, an activist and perennial political candidate, was among several guest speakers at the rally including Ken Wolski, executive director of Coalition for Medical Marijuana NJ.

As the group proceeded to the Statehouse, the rally swelled in both size and sound. The chants grew louder and attracted the honks of passing cars on the busy street.

While the march raised a few eyebrows - including those of a mother walking with her young son on East State Street - it roused more calls of support from those driving or walking by. Several unsuspecting bystanders were seen nodding to themselves or starting up conversations on the merits of legal marijuana in the group's wake.

Comprised of individuals of all ages and races from anywhere between Rhode Island and Maryland, the coalition had nearly as many reasons for supporting its pro-cannabis stance as people in its midst.

"I want it legal and I want it accepted," said Nicole Pederson, a 20-year-old from Barnegat Township. "It's not as bad as everyone makes it out to be. It's closer to alcohol or tobacco than the other Class 1 drugs it's grouped in with, and people who smoke it are calm. There's no danger involved."

For former Rhode Island gubernatorial candidate Ann Armstrong, the issue was less about individual freedoms and more about religious rights. A sacramental oil called "kaneh-bos" is mentioned in Exodus 30:23, she said, which she believes is the Hebrew word for "cannabis." The oil mentioned in the Bible is also described as a cure for similar ailments to those that medicinal marijuana is being used for today, she said.

"I spent 20 years going to church every Sunday and fighting for pro-life, until I realized that this is the true pro-life fight," Armstrong said. "People are getting sick and dying every day and they don't have to and they could be using cannabis to help. We just want our rights back."

For activist Bart Falcone, the legalization fight was not its own individual issue, but intertwined with so many other causes he fights for, he said.

"If a kid is busted for smoking a joint, he's affected for the rest of his life. That's no way to build a society, especially in a global age," Falcone said. "All of these issues are combined. I fought for gay marriage, and now I'm fighting for the chance to smoke a joint at that gay marriage ceremony."

Many in the crowd chose to keep their views short, both summarizing and broadcasting their beliefs on the green, white and black signs the group hoisted through Trenton.

Popular slogans included "Treat cannabis like alcohol: End prohibition," "Marijuana death toll: 0," "It's just a plant," and a twist on President Barack Obama's famous campaign refrain, "Yes we cannabis!"

Others chose to express their fervor through a variety of props, including many cardboard cannabis leaves and one cannabis leaf costume. One man made weed his cross to bear, strapping a large, cardboard marijuana leaf to a white cross, which he carried on his back during the march.

And the group was lead by another prop of sorts, a purple and green spray painted passenger van called the "Weed Mobile," sporting graffiti depictions of smoke and leaves, being led downtown by a Trenton police car.

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