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Newsbrief:
NJ
Weedman
Sues
Comcast,
Asks
$420,000
3/21/03
Ed Forchion, the marijuana
legalization advocate freed from jail in January after a federal judge
found that New Jersey officials had unlawfully violated his parole for
speaking out on a public policy issue -- legalizing marijuana -- has filed
a $420,000 lawsuit against the state's largest cable TV provider.
The suit charges that Comcast Communications censored pro-legalization
ads he planned to run and libeled him in the mass media.
Forchion entered into a contract
with Comcast last summer to broadcast political issue ads, but Comcast
dumped the ads and told the media Forchion was advocating the illegal use
of drugs. In an interview with Preston Peet's Drug War news web site
(http://www.drugwar.com), at time
of Forchion's arrest for parole violation last August, Comcast vice-president
of corporate communications told Peet the cable giant did run commercials
by drug prohibition outfits, such as the Office of National Drug Control
Policy and the Partnerships for a Drug-Free America, but that it would
not run Forchion's ads because they "promote the use of habit forming drugs
or drug paraphernalia."
But Forchion's advertisements
are available online (http://www.crrh.org/hemptv/misc_weedman.html)
and clearly show that he is advocating a public policy position, not the
use of marijuana.
Comcast had no comment on
the suit. The lawsuit is assigned for trial to US District Judge
Joseph Irenas. No trial date has yet been set.
Visit Forchion's web site
at http://www.njweedman.com to learn
more about the New Jersey Weedman.
-- END --
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Issue #279, 3/21/03
New York City Mayor Bloomberg Backs Needle Exchange, But Where's the Money? | Medical Marijuana Update: Bills Killed in Arkansas, Wyoming But Moving Forward in Maryland, Vermont, Bad Bill Introduced in Oregon | UN Says Colombian Coca Cultivation Down 30 Percent, Overall Production Down, Too -- Experts Say Not Really | Newsbrief: Marco Cappato in Jail for British Marijuana Civil Disobedience | Newsbrief: Mexican Governor Candidate Says Legalize Drugs | Newsbrief: Guardian Newspaper Calls on Britons to Promote Home Grows, Not Prosecute Them | Newsbrief: Vancouver Ponders "Safe Smoking Materials" for Crack Users | Newsbrief: Medical Marijuana Hits the Shelves in Dutch Pharmacies | Newsbrief: New Jersey Bans Racial Profiling | Newsbrief: NJ Weedman Sues Comcast, Asks $420,000 | Newsbrief: House Republicans Hold Off on Subpoena of Federal Judge | Newsbrief: Informant Nailed for Fake Ecstasy Scam | The Reformer's Calendar
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