Pubdate: Mon, 26 Jun 2006
Source: Norwich Bulletin (CT)
Copyright: 2006 Norwich Bulletin
Contact: http://www.norwichbulletin.com/customerservice/contactus.html
Website: http://www.norwichbulletin.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2206
Author: Ray Hackett
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Cliff+Thornton (Cliff Thornton)

GREEN PARTY CONNECTICUT GOVERNOR HOPEFUL --  LET'S END DRUG WAR

COLCHESTER -- No one will ever accuse Clifford Thornton of shyness.

The 61-year-old retired businessman and Green Party candidate for 
governor is passionately blunt in describing what he sees as the 
failure of government -- and unconcerned if some find his sharp and 
pointed criticisms offensive.

"That's because I'm not a politician," he said during lunch last week 
at Peg's Vintage Diner in Colchester. "I'm not going to cater to you 
just to get your vote. I'm going to tell you the truth. And all great 
truths start as blasphemy.

"What we need are politicians so committed to the job that they're 
willing to lose it," he said.

Thornton, the first African-American to run for governor, is 
centerpiecing his gubernatorial bid on what he believes is the single 
most important issue facing the state -- and the nation. He advocates 
decriminalizing illegal drugs, and bringing an end to the 40-year war 
on drugs he said has done nothing to stem the tide of illegal drug 
sales or use.

"The war on drugs is meant to be waged, not won," he said, adding 
billions have been spent building prisons and fighting the drug war 
with no tangible evidence of success. "That's money that could have 
been spent on education, transportation infrastructure, housing, 
economic development and myriad other programs."

Decriminalizing illegal drugs, he contends, will have a positive 
impact on every other problem.

"Do you know what the definition of insanity is?" he said. "It's 
doing the same thing over and over again, and each time expecting to 
get a different result. The war on drugs isn't working, but we keep 
fighting it. That's insanity."

Being the first African-American to run for governor, Thornton said, 
means nothing unless it serves as motivation to other minorities to 
seek elected office. Race, however, is something different, and very 
much a part of his campaign. And he is particularly critical of 
organizations such as the NAACP, Urban League and black clergy that 
he claims have sold out their communities by turning a blind eye to 
the problem.

"You've got to talk about race," he said. "Seventy percent of the 
people in jail on drug charges are minorities. And 70 percent of the 
drug overdoses are white people. The drug problem is in the headlines 
every day. And where are we seeing the problem? In the poor, mostly 
minority, inner-city areas.

"Drugs are two degrees from everything in society," he said. "If you 
don't understand racism, classism, terrorism, white privilege and the 
war on drugs, then everything else will only confuse you."

Thornton's radical views are not the rantings of a one-issue 
candidate seeking to shock voters. On the contrary, he is a 
well-respected authority and drug reform advocate who has lectured 
extensively across the country and the world. His mother died of a 
heroin overdose when he was 18, and he now believes if heroin use had 
been legal and supervised by doctors, she might have been able to 
lead a safe and healthy life.

He is the founder of Efficacy, a 10-year-old nonprofit Hartford-based 
group focused on reforming the nation's drug policy, and he taught a 
graduate level course titled "Illegal Drugs and Public Policy" at 
Trinity College in 2002.

He hopes his gubernatorial campaign will provide yet a larger 
platform and broader audience for his message.

"I've been waiting 10 years for someone to step forward, but no one 
has," he said when asked why he accepted the Green Party nomination 
for governor. "This is a natural evolution for someone like myself."
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman