Activist Who Helped Spark Calif.’s Medical Marijuana Movement Dies
Dennis Peron, a friend of slain gay rights activist Harvey Milk, helped push through a San Francisco ordinance that allowed the use of medical marijuana. That was seen as a precursor to the statewide legalization of medical pot in 1996 with the passage of California Proposition 215.
Reuters:
Dennis Peron, Father Of Medical Marijuana In California, Dies At 72
Dennis Peron, the cannabis activist who fired up the movement to legalize medical marijuana in California, died on Saturday in a San Francisco hospital. He was 72. Also a prominent figure in San Francisco's gay community, he was credited as a pioneer in recognizing the health benefits of pot during the height of the AIDS crisis in the 1980s. "A man that changed the world," was how his brother Jeffrey Peron remembered him on Facebook. "It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of my brother Dennis Peron." (Goldberg, 1/28)
In other news —
San Francisco Chronicle:
California Marijuana Purveyors Go Mainstream, Except For The Sacks Of Cash
Industry leaders estimate that 70 percent of the more than 1,600 recreational and medical dispensaries in the state are still dealing in cash. ...The Wild West situation stems from marijuana remaining illegal under federal law, which prompts banks that might open accounts and extend loans to fear money-laundering charges. (Fimrite, 1/28)