TRENTON -- The man known as NJ Weedman, a longtime marijuana legalization advocate, has ended his roughly two-week hunger strike at the urging of Duane "Dog" Chapman -- the star of the reality TV show "Dog the Bounty Hunter."

Ed Forchion began his hunger strike on June 13 in protest of his being held at the Mercer County jail while awaiting trial on a witness tampering charge, according to his Facebook page, which is being maintained by his supporters while he's in jail.

He was arrested in early March on charges related to a raid on his Trenton restaurant, Weedman's Joint, last year.

In a handwritten letter sent to NJ Advance Media, Forchion said, "'Dog the Bounty Hunter' has come to town to champion the cause (bail is a right). I just talked to 'Dog' on the phone and he urged me to end this strike."

Chapman has been an outspoken critic of New Jersey's bail reform measures. On Monday, he and his wife, Beth, went to the Statehouse to voice opposition against the new measures, which were implemented in January. The couple also spoke on the issue at a town hall meeting in Edgewater over the weekend.

"'Dog' says he will be urging the state Assembly to respect citizens' rights to bail and to release me," NJ Weedman wrote, noting that he believes he has a new detention hearing scheduled on Thursday at 1:30 p.m.

Forchion said he believes his hunger strike has accomplished its purpose.

He wrote, "I believe my hunger strike was a success! I got the media's attention to the constitutional issue of bail and the denial of it with the BRA" (Bail Reform Act).

Forchion's charges from his arrest in March were related to a confidential informant that authorities said bought marijuana from Forchion in the months before the raid.

Forchion claimed to have learned the name of the confidential informant and posted it on social media despite prosecutors seeking it be kept confidential. Forchion has said that he also filed a lawsuit against the informant and sent the legal papers to the man's family members.

That attempted contact led to the witness tampering charge, prosecutors have said.

Forchion was ordered detained in the witness tampering case and his appeals seeking release on bail have been denied.

Weedman's restaurant reopened on April 20 under the new name Weedbukx.

Spencer Kent may be reached at skent@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerMKent. Find the Find NJ.com on Facebook.