A Love Letter to Queer People in Cannabis

Cover photo by Ben Mackay

For us, Pride isn’t a one-month marketing bonanza. It’s every damn day. And contrary to popular belief, our lives are not always rainbows and unicorns.

The most overt connection between the LGBTQ+ liberation movement and the movement to decriminalize cannabis in recent history was born during the AIDS Crisis in the 1980s and ‘90s. Activists Dennis Peron, Mary Jane Rathbun, Paul Scott, and many more whose names we’ll never know fought for rights and recognition on both fronts during this era, largely in service of decriminalizing cannabis for medical use for people living with HIV and AIDS. Peron’s advocacy work led to the passage of California’s first state-wide medical cannabis bill, which would eventually become The Compassionate Use Act of 1996 and pave the way for medical and recreational legalization in states across the country.

”The two movements both gained ground around the same time and advocated for disenfranchised, outcast populations, working to radically shift what society perceived as deviant and delinquent,” said Natalie Oganesyan in The Daily Trojan. "Without the intensive, dangerous labor of queer activists, weed would not be as (relatively) accessible as it is today.”

And just as the fight for cannabis legalization and destigmatization continues today, so too are queer people still fighting for recognition, acceptance, and radical change. And frankly…we’re exhausted. And anxious. We have trauma, we have insomnia. Alcohol use disorder is rampant in our communities. We have to have hard conversations with everyone in our lives, from our employers to our families to the person at the Secretary of State counter.

What we’re trying to say is, many queer people turn to cannabis for natural relief from the stressors of everyday life. And we deserve to have ease of access to it, free from stigma.

So, to the queer people who love cannabis: we see you in all your glory. We love you. We are you. Keep fighting the good fight. We’re rolling one up for you this month, and next month, and all the months to come.