Mike Davis

Asbury Park Press

TRENTON - They came to the Statehouse wearing marijuana leaves on their clothes, with buttons and T-shirts and fiery testimony about the "failed drug war."

But when legislators cleared the bill to legalize weed in New Jersey — the first real step taken toward marijuana legalization? Many of the state's most ardent and longest-running activists were left wanting more.

"I've been in prison and, for the last 20 years, I've been advocating for the legalization of cannabis," said Ed Forchion, the longtime legal weed advocate known mostly as N.J. Weedman. "But this bill doesn't go far enough."

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Forchion was one of just many longtime New Jersey legal weed activists who identified one or more missing pieces in the legislation approved by the Senate and Assembly budget committees on Monday.

For Forchion, 54, it was the fear that those convicted of illegally selling marijuana wouldn't be able to legally sell marijuana. Forchion was convicted and served time in prison for intent to distribute marijuana.

"We all know who's getting the licenses, and it's not people like me — who have sold marijuana. We're not going anywhere, so what are you going to do with us," Forchion said. "I don't want to get arrested again. I don't want to go to jail again. But the day you pass this bill, I will be emboldened to sell marijuana (on the black market) — just like the white guys."

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One of the biggest sticking points throughout the marijuana legalization talks has been "home grow," a provision allowing marijuana users or patients to grow cannabis plants at home.

For Jo Anne Zito, it's a line in the sand. A family member — she declined to identify their relationship — was arrested on charges of growing one marijuana plant, she said.

“He would qualify as a patient today, but he didn’t then. And even now, the punishment isn’t changing,” said Zito, 44. “People have died waiting for this and it’s not right. If they really care about medicine and saving lives, they’re not doing a pretty good job of showing it."

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Home grow long been one of the biggest sticking points for marijuana legalization activists. If the legal weed bill becomes law as written, New Jersey would be only the second state in the country — alongside Washington — to legalize marijuana but deny users permission to grow their own.

Of the 29 states with medical marijuana, all but 10 allow patients to grow their own cannabis — in many cases, with higher limits than proscribed for recreational users.

“This is hurtful for patients," Zito said. "They’ve been waiting eight years, nine years for a medical marijuana expansion — this is just hurtful.”

Even the ACLU of New Jersey, while applauding the passage of marijuana legalization bills in committee, noted that one major group was left out: Those currently in prison — or serving parole or probation — on marijuana charges.

The ACLU has called for those sentences to be "terminated" and for the state to eliminate marijuana consumption as a parole or probation violation.

Speaking before the budget committees on Monday, ACLU of New Jersey senior policy counsel Dianna Houenou chided the Legislature for making decisions on legal weed legislation behind closed doors.

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A bill to dramatically alter the expungement process wasn't introduced until Black Friday, three days before the committee hearings. That expungement bill cleared committee by a 9 to 3 vote, with one abstention.

"The urgency of passing legislation is not lost on us and it is palpable," said Dianna Houenou, ACLU New Jersey senior policy counsel. "But we need not, and must not, rush legislation at the expense of transparency.

Mike Davis; @byMikeDavis: 732-643-4223; mdavis@gannettnj.com