Dennis Robert Peron (April 8, 1945 – January 27, 2018) was an American

activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

and businessman who became a leader in the movement for the legalization of cannabis throughout the 1990s. He influenced many in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and thus changed the political debate on marijuana in the United States.

Biography

Peron was born in

The Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, into an Italian-American family and grew up in

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

. He served in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

during the

Tet Offensive The Tet Offensive was a major escalation and one of the largest military campaigns of the Vietnam War. The Viet Cong (VC) and North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) launched a surprise attack on 30 January 1968 against the forces of ...

. After the war, he moved to the Castro District, San Francisco, where he became an active Yippie and organized smoke-ins. He also supported gay activist

Harvey Milk Harvey Bernard Milk (May 22, 1930 – November 27, 1978) was an American politician and the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California, as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Milk was born and raised i ...

, a former Long Island resident, who won an elected seat on the

San Francisco Board of Supervisors The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is the board of supervisors, legislative body within the government of San Francisco, government of the San Francisco, City and County of San Francisco in the U.S. state of California. Government and polit ...

in 1977. Peron sold

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...

from storefronts in the Castro District and advocated for

medical cannabis Medical cannabis, medicinal cannabis or medical marijuana (MMJ) refers to cannabis products and cannabinoid molecules that are prescribed by physicians for their patients. The use of cannabis as medicine has a long history, but has not ...

, as he saw how patients with AIDS benefited from it. His partner, Jonathan West, whom he met in San Francisco, died of

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

in 1990. In 1991, Peron organized for the passage of San Francisco's Proposition P, a resolution calling on the state government to permit medical cannabis, which received 79% of the vote. That same year, he co-founded the San Francisco Cannabis Buyers Club, the first public cannabis dispensary. His businesses were raided by authorities in 1978 and 1990. In 1993, Peron and Brownie Mary jointly released a cookbook with recipes for

cannabis edible A cannabis edible, also known as a cannabis-infused food or simply an edible, is a food item (either homemade or produced commercially) that contains decarboxylated cannabinoids (cannabinoid acids converted to their orally bioactive form) fro ...

s. In 1996, Peron coauthored California Proposition 215, which sought to allow the use of medical cannabis. Dan Lungren, the Attorney General of California, ordered a police raid of Peron's club a month before the election, arresting Peron. Peron worked with other activists such as Scott Imler and Valerie Corral. Proposition 215 was passed soon thereafter, which allowed the club to reopen. Later in 1996, the Grassroots Party fielded Peron as their nominee, in the U.S. presidential election. Peron was on the ballot in Minnesota and Vermont, and received 5,400 votes. In 1998, Peron ran in the Republican primary for

governor against Lungren, who won the primary and lost the election to Gray Davis. Peron voiced support for decriminalization of all marijuana use, believing that it is

medicinal Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

. He opposed medical marijuana use for children. Peron opposed California Proposition 19 in 2010, which would have legalized recreational cannabis, because he did not believe that recreational use exists, as all people who use marijuana are using it medicinally. He opposed California Proposition 64 in 2016. Later in life, Peron owned and operated a cannabis farm near Clearlake, California. San Francisco's Board of Supervisors recognized Peron, who was suffering with late-stage lung cancer, with a certificate of honor in 2017. Supervisor Jeff Sheehy called Peron "the father of medical cannabis". On January 27, 2018, aged 72, Peron died of lung cancer at the Veteran's Administration Health Center in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

References

External links

"Pothole Awaits Calif. Attorney General in Drive for Governor"
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The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

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Dennis Peron: Biography
MisterSF.com; accessed January 28, 2018.

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High Times ''High Times'' was an American monthly magazine (and cannabis brand) that advocates the legalization of cannabis as well as other counterculture ideas. The magazine was founded in 1974 by Tom Forcade. The magazine had its own book publishing d ...

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San Francisco Cannabis Buyers Club (1995)
Director: Richard Gaikowski; youtube.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Peron, Dennis 1945 births 2018 deaths Politicians from the Bronx People from Long Island Military personnel from New York (state) Activists from the San Francisco Bay Area American cannabis activists Cannabis political party politicians Cannabis in California Deaths from lung cancer in California American gay writers Grassroots Party politicians American HIV/AIDS activists American LGBTQ rights activists Candidates in the 1996 United States presidential election Yippies American people of Italian descent