A memorial for Dennis Peron will be held at Cafe Flore in San Francisco on Sunday, March 11th from 5:00 to 10:00 pm
January 27 – We are sad to report that medical marijuana activist Dennis Peron died today at the VA hospital in San Francisco.
“No person is more responsible for the legalization of medical marijuana than Dennis,” Cal NORML director Dale Gieringer told the New York Times. “He was in the right place, at the right time as a gay rights leader at the time of the AIDS epidemic; he had the right experience as a pot dealer, the gumption to go ahead and do it and the trust of the people of San Francisco, who respected his efforts.”
Dennis was depicted in the 2008 film “Milk,” about former San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk. He was presented with a “Pioneer” Award at Cal NORML’s 2013 conference marking 100 years of prohibition in California. In 2013 he accepted a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Emerald Cup. Last year, he was honored at the SF Board of Supervisors.
The day after Dennis died, the San Francisco Chronicle ran his obituary and an editorial calling for marijuana legalization at the federal level (as well as an 8-page guide to marijuana tourism in CA).
On January 30, state Senator Scott Wiener adjourned the Senate in Peron’s honor.
A few days later, it was announced that SF DA George Gascon will be automatically erasing minor marijuana convictions in San Francisco back to 1975.
A memorial for Dennis Peron will be held at Cafe Flore in San Francisco on Sunday, March 11th from 5:00 to 10:00 pm