MARIJUANA PROVIDER'S DEATH STIRS QUESTIONS

While Denver police hunt for a motive in the deadly shooting of
medical-marijuana provider Ken Gorman, his brother and marijuana
activists said the business of providing the drug to sick people
isn't the safest line of work.

"I've heard Ken had dealt with previous attempts to rob him, and it's
likely the result (of the fact that) that marijuana is on the black
market," said Mason Tvert of SAFER, a group that unsuccessfully tried
to get voters to legalize small amounts of pot in Colorado last November.

Gorman, 59, was shot to death Saturday night in his home in the 1000
block of South Decatur Street in Denver. No arrests were announced Monday.

The marijuana activist often led pot-smoking festivals near the state Capitol.

Brian Vicente, executive director of Sensible Colorado, a group
pushing changes in marijuana policy, said Gorman was at the forefront
of efforts to allow possession and cultivation of marijuana for
medicinal purposes. Medical pot became legal in Colorado in 2000,
although it is still barred by federal law.

"He was ahead of his time in speaking out for sick people who
deserved access to medical marijuana," Vicente said.

Marijuana providers don't feel they can turn to authorities for
protection and have to keep their lives a secret because of the
political and social controversy surrounding marijuana, Tvert said.

"It's like a basketball game with no referee, and when that happens,
people take extra steps to foul individuals without penalties," Tvert said.

Marijuana providers often take extensive security measures around
their homes, such as installing cameras, hiring guards and putting up
extra lighting, Tvert said.

Gorman recently was profiled on TV station KCNC (Channel 4) in a
story about providing medicinal marijuana. Vicente believes the story
might have prompted someone to rob Gorman.

"To me, he seems like a victim of the war on drugs," Vi cente said.
"If marijuana were legal, there would be no incentive for someone to
break into his home and steal it."

Gorman was the kind of person who would have turned over any cash or
marijuana to a thief, as he had done in the past, Vicente said.

Gorman's 71-year-old brother, Gregory Gorman, also believes the TV
exposure may have contributed to his death. But there also were
marijuana opponents who had made threats against Ken Gorman, his brother said.

Ken Gorman - who had an adult daughter - kept cash in his house as a
result of his business, his brother said.