Cliff Thornton

Clifford "Cliff" W. Thornton, Jr. (born January 16, 1945, in Hartford, Connecticut) is an American drug policy reform advocate[1] and Green politician who served as one of the seven co-chairs of the Green Party of the United States.

For the American jazz musician, see Clifford Thornton.

Career

In the 1990s, Thornton founded Efficacy, a non-profit advocacy group to educate about drug policy reform.[2][3][4]

From 2003 to 2008, Thornton spoke to over 400,000 people on drug reform in 750 venues around the United States, Australia, Canada, Europe, and New Zealand. Thornton appeared on over 400 radio shows and numerous television spots on drug policy reform as it relates to health, race/class and economics. He is described as "America's foremost anti-Drug War African American activist" by Amherst College's online newspaper.[5] Thornton, a retired telephone company executive,[1] also speaks on education, and health care.[4]

In 2006, Thornton was the nominee of the Connecticut Green Party for Governor.[6] He was the first African American candidate to appear on the general election ballot for Governor of Connecticut. Some political analysts commended Thornton for his strong stance on drug policy reform.[7] In October 2006, Thornton was initially invited to a gubernatorial debate co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters and The Day newspaper of New London, before being uninvited due to a disagreement among the debate sponsors regarding his eligibility for participation.[8] His campaign received 9,583 votes for just under one percent of the overall vote.[9]

In 2007, Thornton received the Robert C. Randall Award for Achievement in the Field of Citizen Action from the Drug Policy Alliance.[10]

References
  1. Geluardi, John (2016). Cannabiz: The Explosive Rise of the Medical Marijuana Industry. Taylor & Francis. p. 112. ISBN 9781317262824.
  2. Cohen, Laurence D. (1999-11-07). "Fighting The War Against Drug Policy". Hartford Courant. Hartford, Connecticut. p. 39. Retrieved 2022-09-11 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Should marijuana be legalized in Connecticut? Yes. Laws have created a black market". Hartford Courant. Hartford, Connecticut. 1997-08-23. p. 6. Retrieved 2022-09-11 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. Associated Press (August 3, 1998) "Windsor couple work to solve drug problem by legalizing narcotics", The Day.
  5. Taylor, Kevin (2003-12-14). "Labour MP promotes visit by legal-drugs advocate". NZ Herald. Retrieved 2022-09-11.
  6. Bass, Paul (2006-02-12). "3rd-Party Candidate's 1st-Class Issue". Hartford Courant. Hartford, Connecticut. p. NE16. Retrieved 2022-09-11 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Thornton's Stance On Drugs". Hartford Courant. Hartford, Connecticut. 2006-02-19. p. NE02. Retrieved 2022-09-11 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. Haigh, Susan (October 2, 2006). "Sponsors Disagree On Including Green Party in Gubernatorial Debate". The Hour. p. A3. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  9. Keating, Christopher (2022-09-11). "Connecticut Republicans trying to win attorney general's office for first time in more than 60 years in 3-way battle". Hartford Courant. Retrieved 2022-09-11.
  10. "Green Party leader to receive award from the Drug Policy Alliance for leadership in drug law reform". Archived from the original on 2008-05-07. Retrieved 2008-05-07.


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