An unapologetic zeal for the legalization of pot highlighted his life, which he willingly made public -- a characteristic many suspect led to his death.
But few have seen the intimate writings of the man outraged by the prohibition of marijuana, which he credited with the ability to save the human race. After his murder Feb. 17, 2007, family members found his writings, and they were willing to share them with Westword.
Gorman kept a pot manifesto of sorts, chronicling the progress of the marijuana movement throughout the 1990s, as well his personal frustrations of national and local drug laws. With a local twist, he often called the politicians who stood in the way of pot legalization "nazis" and accused them of torture for barring the afflicted from a new form of medicine.
Among his musings is a report he was ordered to write while in prison, in which he notes his regret about using cocaine, which he says further fueled the war on drugs -- a war that put pot legalization even more out of reach:
Gorman also saved roughly edited scripts of his "Asshole of the Week" tirades, which featured a new target every week, usually a politician. Among them is the script for the "Asshole" that featured Beverly J. Kinard, a local anti-pot activist, which made a splash in the local media. See the scripts below:
