Cannabis
Pride

In the first week of November 1978, San Francisco's Prop W passed by 58% with endorsements from Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, who were friends with Peron and the cannabis community.

Three weeks later, a homophobic cop named Dan White walked into San Francisco City Hall and assassinated both Moscone and Milk — two wildly popular public officials. "White Night" riots broke out. Police cars became fair game. Dan White eventually killed himself.

Later, Peron told Pebbles Trippet he believed the 58% success of the legalization initiative ultimately caused the assassinations.

While the federal government refused to acknowledge the AIDS crisis, queer activists in San Francisco were quietly building the infrastructure for what would become the modern cannabis industry. They organized buyers' clubs, distributed medicine to dying friends, and built the legal and political case for compassionate access — all while fighting for their own survival.

Dennis is a forefather of the cannabis industry. After his partner Jonathan West died of AIDS in 1990, Peron intensified his efforts to provide cannabis to AIDS patients for symptom relief.

He founded the San Francisco Cannabis Buyers Club in 1991 — the first public dispensary in the United States. Peron's activism was instrumental in passing Proposition 215 in 1996, co-authoring the Compassionate Use Act.

Despite these foundational contributions, Peron was openly against modern legalization efforts until his passing in 2018. Considering the current state of the market, he still has some things to teach this industry.

Photo source: New York Times, 1997

Known for distributing cannabis brownies to AIDS patients she called her "kids," Mary volunteered at San Francisco General Hospital during the 1980s and 1990s. At the peak of the crisis, she baked an estimated 600 brownies a day to help ease patients' suffering.

Living in public housing near Haight-Ashbury, she charged only for ingredients. Despite multiple arrests, her compassion — along with Peron — helped pass Prop 215 in 1996, legalizing medical cannabis in California, the first state to allow dispensaries.