Dennis Peron should be remembered for his positive change

I read of the passing of Dennis Peron with a great deal of sadness. I knew Dennis in the 1970s, when he first started advocating for legal marijuana.

Dennis and his adopted family lived in a beautiful Victorian home. I stayed many nights there, and I have fond memories of the people I met there.

In an autobiography, Dennis referred to himself as “a gay kid from Long Island.” Dennis came to California after serving in the air force during the Vietnam War, and quickly became a fixture in San Francisco, a well-known advocate for the legal use of marijuana for people with AIDS and cancer.

He built a lifetime and a career serving as an advocate for legal marijuana. In this case, Dennis was simply a man ahead of his time.

The last time I saw Dennis was in the early 1990s. When I reintroduced myself, it did take him a moment to remember me, but when he did, we talked and laughed together, reminiscing about life in the 1970s when pot smokers were felons.

We’ve come a long way since then, and Dennis deserves to be remembered for his tireless work on behalf of positive change.

This story was originally published February 2, 2018 at 6:15 PM with the headline "Dennis Peron should be remembered for his positive change."