When people ask why it’s so easy to love working in the cannabis industry, the answer usually comes down to one thing: the freedom to just be.
Finding a workplace where you can show up entirely as yourself, without carrying extra weight or stress, is not something to take for granted. Working in the cannabis space opens you up to a community that is incredibly accepting, expressive, and safe. Our commitment to growth isn’t just about the plants, it’s about investing in people.
But this welcoming environment didn’t happen by accident. The truth is, we wouldn’t be standing in legal, modern dispensaries today without a long history of queer activism.
Dennis Peron: The Rebel & The Resistance
We wouldn’t have legal weed the way we do today without the queer community making it happen.
Enter Dennis Peron: a self-described gay kid from Long Island who joined the Air Force just to get out of his hometown, eventually ending up in San Francisco, where he became a weed enthusiast, a gay rights activist, and a borderline vigilante.
Back in the 1990s, when the AIDS crisis was ripping through the queer community and the government was largely ignoring the epidemic, Dennis lost his partner, Jonathan West, to the disease. Through that devastating loss, he saw up close how much cannabis helped ill people just get through the day.
Because of that, Dennis started a resistance. He was busted more than four times for dealing, did time in jail, and was even shot in the leg by a police officer. Undeterred, he ran San Francisco’s first underground dispensary for AIDS patients, the Cannabis Buyers Club, which ended up helping around 9,000 people.
He took the fight all the way to the ballot box, joining the movement for Proposition 215, which legalized medical marijuana in California in 1996 and became the very first medical marijuana law in the entire country.
After a judge forced the San Fransico Cannabis Buyers Club to close in 1998, Dennis spent his final years on a 20-acre farm with his husband, growing plants and giving them away for free to patients who needed them right up until he passed away in 2018 at 71 years old.
If it wasn’t for queer legends like Dennis putting it all on the line, walking into a dispensary today wouldn’t be a reality. He did that for us, and he didn’t do it alone.
The Caregivers: Brownie Mary & Paul Scott
Dennis pulled together a big, beautiful crew of LGBTQ+ and public health activists who operated as an underground lifeline, including legendary caregivers like Mary Jane Rathbun (better known as “Brownie Mary“) and Paul Scott.
Brownie Mary
Mary Jane Rathbun was a sweet, tough, grandmotherly hospital volunteer baking up thousands of weed brownies every single month in her little apartment. She walked them right into the hospital AIDS wards, giving them away for free to patients dealing with severe wasting syndrome and nausea. She was arrested a bunch of times, but instead of backing down, she used highly publicized courtroom moments to call out the government and flip the script on how the public saw cannabis.
Paul Scott
At the same time, activists like Paul Scott—a nurse and HIV advocate—were hustling to make sure safe access to cannabis kept spreading. Paul was living with an HIV diagnosis himself, using cannabis just to survive the toxic side effects of early medications like AZT.
As a Black gay man facing the height of the War on Drugs, Paul risked his own safety to take the movement down to Los Angeles and Oakland, ensuring Black and Brown queer communities weren’t left behind. He went on to run a facility in Inglewood for over twelve years and even launched LA Black Gay Pride.
These amazing caregivers came together to make history. They showed the world that long before cannabis was a multi-billion dollar commercial industry, it was literally a tool for human survival, powered by queer people taking care of each other.
Cleve Jones & The Modern Movement
This history is exactly why Pride is way more than just a June thing for us. It’s a direct reminder of how cannabis and community survival are still intertwined today.
You might know Cleve Jones as a legendary activist who worked alongside Harvey Milk and
co-founded the AIDS Memorial Quilt. 
Cleve is a long-term HIV survivor who was diagnosed during the height of the crisis.
Back then, in San Francisco’s Castro district, Cleve and his friends relied on an underground cannabis delivery service called “Sticky Fingers Brownies” just to cope with their symptoms and find comfort.
Inclusivity has always been deeply ingrained in cannabis spaces, and honoring these foundational legacies requires active, ongoing support.
How to Keep the Legacy Rolling All Year Round
We get to keep the spirit of those early activists alive by making conscious choices about how we support the community today. Even the little stuff makes a massive difference, like supporting local queer-owned businesses and creators online. Or the next time you visit us, ask a budtender about queer-owned, independent, or LGBTQIA+-supportive brands or products available on our shelves.
Remember that cannabis culture at its best is always about safety, mutual aid, and acceptance.
Let’s keep the love going for everyone who paved the way for the freedoms we enjoy today. Happy Pride, and take care of each other out there.
