THORNTON'S STANCE ON DRUGS

I was pleased to see the coverage given to Cliff Thornton in the NE
Magazine article with the very appropriate headline "Third Party
Candidate's First Class Issue." (In the interest of full disclosure,
I am a member of the board of http://www.efficacy-online.org/ Efficacy, the drug policy group Mr. Thornton heads.)

As a former state legislator, I was one of the politicians who did
not see reform of our drug laws as being "soft on crime." I hope Mr.
Thornton's candidacy will serve the purpose of informing people about
how counter productive our drug policies are, on the state and on the
national levels. Money spent on prevention and treatment would be
much more cost effective than the money we spend incarcerating minor
drug offenders.

I believe Mr. Thornton is realistic about his chances of being
elected governor, but one has to admire the dedication of this most
talented and capable individual. It is to be hoped that attention
will be paid to his positions. Major party candidates would do well
to recognize the validity of his arguments and incorporate some of
his ideas into their own positions.

Claire Sauer

Lyme