 Thornton retired from Southern New England Telephone Corporation, in Connecticut in 1997 where he was a middle-level manager.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.