THORNTON SUGGESTS DRUG POLICY

Green Party candidate Cliff Thornton was welcomed Wednesday afternoon
by Students for Sensible Drug Policy, who invited Thorton to speak
during their weekly meeting.

Thornton described the Green Party as "a party of social and
environmental justice ... it's not a legalizing party, it's a party
about common sense."

If elected, Thornton hopes to focus on the environment by removing
400,000 cars from the road in four years, through conservation and a
mass transit policy.

Thornton pointed out that although the environment is the number one
priority for the Green Party, drug policy is also a very important
aspect of his campaign.

"The population of Connecticut is 3.5 million people," Thornton said.
"Less than 6 percent of that population is black and Hispanic males.
Seventy percent of the people in jail are black and Hispanic males,
and 70 percent are also there for drug offenses. Eighty percent of
the people who die from illegal drugs in this state are white. What
is wrong with this picture?"

Thornton explained that he supports the legalization of hemp,
cannabis and heroin for medicinal purposes, cocaine, methamphetamines
and ecstasy and the decriminalization of all drugs for future debate and study.

This may sound extreme at first, but Thornton provided strong
arguments to back up his ideas. He also provided real life examples
from countries like Switzerland and Amsterdam who have progressive
drug policies, which have proven to be successful.

On the issue of legalizing hemp and cannabis, Thornton explained the
hesitation to legalize the drugs has less to do with people using the
drug and more to do with the fact that hemp would revolutionize the
garment, food and paper industries.

The legalization of the aforementioned drugs for medicinal purposes
is referring to maintenance programs, which are used to end the crime
and violence associated with the drug trade, while weaning addicts
off of drugs by giving them medically prescribed doses until they are
ready to quit.

"Since 1965, half of the people who smoked cigarettes quit, and we
didn't arrest a single person for smoking," Thornton said. "It's
about education."

"I'm for ending prohibition," Thornton said. "That's the price. It's
about bringing all of these drugs within the law somehow."

"Thornton spoke about a strong passion for the importance of
education in the next generation," said Sara Senko, a 3rd semester
sociology and anthropology double major. "The drug war affects all
areas of social life and he really advocated social action."

Thornton encouraged students to be political, arguing "The only way
to change these drug laws are from inside the system."

"My generation screwed things up," Thornton said. "Now it's up to you
to move forward. It's up to you to fix it. I'm sorry!"

"It's important to bring awareness [to] Green Party issues because
they focus on issues that the two main parties don't focus on," said
Daniel Cornelius, a 5th-semester political science major and
president of the Students for Sensible Drug Policy. "But it's also
important to incorporate some of the ideas associated with drug
policy reform into the two major parties because no social movement
has been successful without the backing of the two main parties."