Civil Rights
Block on Trump's Asylum Ban Upheld by Supreme Court
Ed Forchion -- who made headlines for his unsuccessful attempt to legally change his name to NJWeedman.com -- finally scored a court win. Soon, he'll score some pot, too.
Although Forchion was convicted of pot possession in New Jersey, he recently received court approval to spend 10 days every month in California to -- you guessed it -- smoke medical marijuana, according to The Trentonian.
The process is called a medical furlough.
Under the inmate furlough program, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBP) allows inmates who meet certain requirements to be temporarily released from custody under carefully prescribed conditions, according to the FBP.
A furlough isn't an entitlement, a reward for good behavior, or a way to shorten a criminal sentence. It's just a release from custody -- for up to 30 days -- for a specific purpose, including to:
If you guessed (or joked) that NJWeedman's furlough was granted for recreational purposes, get ready to feel like an insensitive jerk: Forchion is a cancer patient.
Though it's no secret the man has an insatiable passion for the green bud, his furlough purpose is medical -- that is, to obtain medical marijuana. THC and marijuana have long been used by cancer and AIDS patients for a slew of purposes, ranging from pain relief to inhibiting tumor growth.
An inmate can obtain a furlough to receive necessary medical, surgical, psychiatric, or dental treatment not otherwise available. Forchion's prison isn't in the business of doling out medical marijuana, so he needed a furlough.
But why California, you implore? Although New Jersey has legalized the use of medical marijuana, Forchion only has a California medical marijuana license. That means he can only get his medicine in California.
Here's hoping Forchion steers clear of pot-stealing ninjas during his sojourn in California.
Follow FindLaw for Consumers on Facebook and Twitter (@FindLawConsumer).
Related Resources:
Sign into your Legal Forms and Services account to manage your estate planning documents.
Sign InCreate an account allows to take advantage of these benefits: