Remembering Kevin
A little over a year ago, on September 6, 2020, Kevin Zeese died of a heart attack. He was 65 years old.
I got to thinking about Kevin recently and how much he did for the efforts to reform the drug laws, particularly in the 1980s and 1990s. He was a law student and an intern at NORML when I first met him. That was around 1977. He would eventually become the executive director at NORML and then move on to establish the Drug Policy Foundation with Arnold Trebach.
Kevin presenting a DPF award to Robert in 1989. Arnold Trebach is on the right.
When he took over NORML in 1983 he inherited the long-standing NORML lawsuit against DEA that began in 1972. The federal drug agency had managed to block the petition several times, often by simply ignoring it. In 1980 that came to a halt with a definitive order from the U.S. Court of Appeals to “get on with it.” Still, DEA obfuscated and hearings would not begin until 1986.
Kevin shrewdly approached Robert and I about bringing the Alliance for Cannabis Therapeutics (ACT) on board in the lawsuit. Kevin knew that the Washington, DC law firm of Steptoe and Johnson was representing ACT pro bono and he wondered what kind of resources S&J might bring to the hearings. Robert already viewed the DEA hearings as an opportunity. He knew that S&J could create a mammoth public record that might possibly win. (Which it eventually did in Sept. 1988.)
When Robert broached this idea to S&J they were interested, quite interested. But they represented ACT, not NORML, and they were uncomfortable at the idea of being second seat to NORML’s attorneys. Would NORML step aside and let ACT take the role of primary plaintiff?
Kevin said yes without so much as a second thought. He knew what S&J would bring to the effort and he knew that would be good. That willingness to “get out of the way” struck me as true leadership. He was willing to do what it would take to get the job done rather than worry about which organization gets the limelight.
My memories of Kevin are those of a warm and pragmatic man, a true hero of the marijuana drug reform efforts. Here is Robert’s memory of Kevin, taken from our book, Marijuana Rx:The Patients’ Fight For Medicinal Pot:
A New Yorker, Kevin talked fast, smiled easily, was playfully cynical and easy to like. He was less overtly complicated, more grounded than most reformers. Kevin was practical as a Dutchman.
Kevin died in his sleep. He is survived by his partner Margaret Flowers and two sons.
Since you’re here, why not stop by the Medical Marijuana Memorabilia Store? There may be something you like there.
