The situation is deeply frustrating to Miguel Lopez, who considers Gorman a mentor; he even has a portion of the late advocate's remains in his possession. Each year, Lopez considers it his sad responsibility to contact the DPD around the date of Gorman's murder and inquire as to the status of what is officially considered a cold case — and once again, he says, the detective with whom he spoke said the situation remains unchanged.
A Denver police spokesperson pushes back on this assertion: "To say no progress has been made is inaccurate. Due to the case being open, we are limited in what can be released, but we can say that while there has not been an arrest, DPD continues to investigate the homicide of Mr. Gorman."
As William Breathes reported in a Westword story published five years after the slaying, Gorman was a Denver native who became active in the marijuana community during the early 1990s. He openly advertised for marijuana on Westword's back page and regularly staged political events at the State Capitol — a tradition that fellow cannabis activists continued in his honor after he was killed.
"Gorman helped pioneer the caregiver system after voters approved medical marijuana in Colorado in 2000," Breathes noted. "A caregiver himself, Gorman was known for his devotion to medical marijuana and helping patients. But he never lost sight of full legalization for everyone."
Then came the events of 2007, detailed in a feature article by onetime Westword contributor J. David McSwane. Gorman's home, on the 1000 block of South Decatur Street, had already been robbed several times — crimes that became the focus of a CBS4 investigation — when unknown individuals broke in again on February 17. Although Gorman had purchased a shotgun to protect himself, he couldn't get to the weapon in time. The intruders shot him to death and split, leaving behind few clues and plenty of questions. For instance, if they intended to steal from Gorman yet again, why did they leave behind stacks of cash and bags of cannabis?
Ken Gorman circa 1990.
After Gorman's passing, Lopez ran the 4/20 event through 2017, when a controversy over cleanup led the city to grant a permit to another group. Then the COVID-19 pandemic prevented the rally from taking place in 2020 and 2021, when Lopez talked to Westword about possibly bringing the gathering back to its grassroots beginnings. What's dubbed the Official 420 Rally website includes a history section that nods to Gorman. It reads: "The 420 Rally seeks to carry on the tradition set by Governor Pothead Ken Gorman. If you include the early years when he began what is now the largest gathering and most prolific gathering of smokers in the world, the Denver 420 Rally has been leading the march for cannabis freedom for over twenty years. Ken was fatally attacked in his home in February 2007, and the case remains unsolved to this day. We will not forget his courage or his sacrifice. Thank you Ken, we march on to educate and spread the word of cannabis evolution worldwide!"
In the meantime, though, plans for the 2024 rally continue under JARS Cannabis, which bills it as the "biggest 4/20 festival in the world"; find more info about the April event here.
If you have any information about the murder of Ken Gorman, contact Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-STOP (7867). Click to see the Ken Gorman page on the Denver Police Department's online cold-case section, and learn more about Gorman on the kengorman.org tribute website.
This story has been updated from the 2022 version.
