Brownie Mary
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Brownie Mary | |
|---|---|
| Born | Mary Jane Rathbun December 23, 1921 Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Died | April 10, 1999 (aged 77) Forest Hill, San Francisco, California |
| Occupation | Hospital volunteer Cannabis activist |
Mary Jane Rathbun (December 22, 1921, - April 10, 1999), popularly known as Brownie Mary, was an American hospital volunteer who became internationally known as a medical cannabis activist. Brownie Mary was famous for baking and distributing "Alice B. Toklas brownies" and volunteering in the AIDS ward of San Francisco General Hospital.[1] She was active in efforts to legalize cannabis use for people with AIDS, cancer, glaucoma, and other diseases,[2] and helped work on Proposition P and California Proposition 215. She also helped Dennis Peron establish the San Francisco Cannabis Buyers Club, a medical cannabis dispensary.
In 1986, SFGH's Ward 86 honored Brownie Mary with a "Volunteer of The Year" award. In 1992, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors declared August 25 "Brownie Mary Day".[2][3]
|
"My kids [people with AIDS and cancer] need this and I'm ready to go to jail for my principles...I'm not going to cut any deals with them. If I go to jail, I go to jail. "
—Brownie Mary[3]
|
She was named a "Living Saint" in 1994 at the San Francisco Saints Alive Benefit. In 1997 the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence dubbed her "Saint Brownie Fucking Mary" at Mary's request as she was a lifelong atheist. Mary was also included in the Sisters' Nuns of the Above AIDS Memorial Quilt for her work with and advocating for people with AIDS.
Brownie Mary died of a heart attack at a Laguna Honda nursing home for the poor at age 77.
[edit] References
- ^ Gumbel, Andrew (1999-04-15). "Brownie Mary". Obituary (The Independent). http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-brownie-mary-1087280.html. Retrieved 2007-06-28.
- ^ a b Goldberg, Carey (1996-07-06). "'Brownie Mary' Fights to Legalize Marijuana". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9501E0DA1039F935A35754C0A960958260.
- ^ a b For more information about the events that took place in 1992 see: Russo, Ethan (2001). Cannabis Therapeutics in HIV/AIDS. The Haworth Press, Inc.. pp. 27–28. ISBN 0-7890-1698-2. Brownie Mary's quote is quoted by Russo from: Hatfield, L.D. (1992-07-23). "Brownie Mary arrested again". San Francisco Examiner. pp. A6.
[edit] Bibliography
- (1996). Brownie Mary's Marijuana Cookbook, Dennis Peron's Recipe for Social Change . Trail of Smoke Publishing Co. ISBN 0-9639892-0-0
[edit] Further reading
- Potter, Beverly (1998). The Healing Magic of Cannabis. Ronin Publishing. ISBN 1579510019.
- Pimsleur, J.L. (1999-04-13). "Mary Jane Rathbun, Popularly Known As Brownie Mary". San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/1999/04/13/MN89150.DTL.
- Reed, Christopher (1999-05-20). "'Brownie Mary' Rathbun". guardian.co.uk. http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/1999/may/20/guardianobituaries1.
- Saxon, Wolfgang (1999-04-14). "Mary Jane Rathbun, 77, Baker Known for Marijuana Brownies". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1999/04/14/us/mary-jane-rathbun-77-baker-known-for-marijuana-brownies.html.
 |
This biographical article about a United States activist is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
