The post Remembering Dennis Peron, The Force Behind Medical Marijuana appeared first on High Times.
We are sad to report that the legendary activist Dennis Peron passed away on January 27 after a battle with cancer. For those who are unfamiliar with the name, Dennis Peron was one of the most prominent advocates for medical marijuana legalization in the state of California. To put it simply, he is the reason we even have medical marijuana today.
Who Was Dennis Peron?
Dennis Peron was born in 1946 in Bronx, New York. In 1966, the U.S. military drafted him. He ended up joining the Air Force and fighting in Vietnam. While overseas, Peron tried cannabis for the first time. In a 2014 interview conducted by acclaimed journalist Bruce Barcott, Peron revealed that he returned to the United States after his service with two pounds of cannabis strapped inside his military gear.
The souvenir launched not only a career but a life of activism.
Peron planted his roots in San Francisco. As a gay man, he found himself accepted there. He started a commune and later began to sell weed to support himself in the Castro District. The Castro was also home and headquarters to Peron’s friend, Harvey Milk. A fellow activist, Milk was the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California.
Although he had numerous run-ins with law enforcement, Peron only saw significant trouble in 1978, when he was arrested for possessing 200 pounds of cannabis. He served a six-month jail sentence. During this time, Milk was assassinated.
The AIDS Crisis and Cannabis Activism
In the 1980s, the AIDS crisis was in full swing. Peron’s partner contracted the virus (Peron did not), as did many of