March 8th, is International Women's Day. Shoutout to Mary Jane Rathbun- One of the strongest advocates, and reasons why we have Medical Marijuana in the United States. aka, Brownie Mary.
Mary Rathbun was born in Chicago, IL, but raised in Minneapolis, MN. In the late 1940s, she worked as an activist promoting abortion rights for women in Minneapolis. During WW2, Rathbun moved out to San Francisco, CA.
"As a hospital volunteer at San Francisco General Hospital, she became known for baking and distributing cannabis brownies to AIDS patients. Along with activist Dennis Peron, Rathbun lobbied for the legalization of cannabis for medical use, and she helped pass San Francisco Proposition P (1991) and California Proposition 215 (1996) to achieve those goals. She also contributed to the establishment of the San Francisco Cannabis Buyers Club, the first medical cannabis dispensary in the United States.
Rathbun was arrested on three occasions, with each arrest bringing increased local, national, and international media attention to the medical cannabis movement. Her grandmotherly appearance generated public sympathy for her cause and undermined attempts by the district attorney's office to prosecute her for possession. The City of San Francisco eventually gave Rathbun permission to distribute cannabis brownies to people with AIDS. Her arrests generated interest in the medical community and motivated researchers to propose one of the first clinical trials to study the effects of cannabinoids in HIV-infected adults." (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brownie_Mary)
Happy International Women's Day, to all the Cannabis Advocates, who "fight like girls." ;) We make a difference in this industry, and in the world.
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