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."