Ed Forchion, aka the NJ Weedman, has been at the forefront of New Jersey’s medical marijuana activism for years. He’s started a cannabis-themed church called in Trenton called the Liberty Bell Temple and a restaurant called The Joint, but has continually clashed with local police and found his businesses shut down or occupied.
Not one to be silenced, Forchion is back, this time with the help of his partner Debi Madaio, a registered nurse and mother of a special needs child who might benefit from medical marijuana. The pair will re-open the cannabis-themed restaurant next month, under a new moniker: “Weedbukx: the Chic Urban Cafe.”
And while New Jersey does have a medical marijuana program (Forchion and Madaio are both patients), none of the food served at the new cafe will contain any ganja. According to a press release, the restaurant will be decorated to look like a cannabis grow room, with “curtains, tablecloths and chairs designed and fashioned after marijuana leaves.”
In addition to the decor, the menu will feature menu items named after stoner favorites, including the "Pothead Sandwich," fried fish with a shrimp crab relish and sriracha sauce; the "East Coast Cannabis Coalition," a turkey meatball dinner with marinara sauce and spaghetti; and of course "Snoop's Dream," a fish and grits dish.
Madaio wants “Weedbukx” to highlight the best things about cannabis culture, without the actual buds of course. “we’re hoping to provide an upscale environment where people can celebrate the wonders of marijuana in a fun environment without partaking in the actual use of it,” Madaio said in the press release.
Only fitting, the cannabis cafe will open to the public on 4/20, giving Jersey residents another option for those holiday munchies.
We’ll take 420 orders of “Snoop’s Dream,” please.
