The link between cannabis legalization and LGBTQIA+ rights is undeniable.Between 1981 and 1982, there were 290 reported cases of what we would eventually call Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). By 1989, there were 100,000 cases.
Faced with this epidemic, and seeing that cannabis could help alleviate symptoms for people with AIDS, LGBT activists opened the first medical marijuana “dispensaries”. This paved the way for California to pass the Compassionate Use Act in 1996, which allowed the use of medical cannabis.
Fast forward to 2019, we have a majority of states that have legalized medical cannabis, but there is still work to do.
“It’s still an LGBT issue because it’s still not accessible to everybody everywhere,” says Khadijah Tribble, an HIV and cannabis activist who studied marijuana policy at the Harvard Kennedy School and now leads a social enterprise organization called Marijuana Matters. “HIV/AIDS is still high in black populations in the South. And they can’t get pot. They still have to break laws.” Read more
This month we’re celebrating the LGBTQIA+ advocates who continue the legacy of compassionate care for all people across our social media platforms. Join us!
4 More Ways to Share the Love:
- Save 50% on a One-Time Screening Event when you book your Community Screening by June 30th.
- Discount Code: WEED50.
- Save 25% on an Educational Purchase of the film for your School, Organization or Library.
- Discount Code: MJWOW25. Offer expires June 30th.
- Watch what LGBTQ activist Melissa Etheridge has to say about cannabis.
- Show your Puffragette Pride with Tees, Hats, Tats and More!
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