Image Credit: ‘Join The Club,’ A.U.M. Films

Did you know that our country’s first public cannabis dispensary was in San Francisco, just outside the historic gay neighborhood, The Castro?

Well, that’s no coincidence. There’s a very good reason America’s history with marijuana and LGBTQ+ history are linked, and his name is Dennis Peron, “the father of medical cannabis.”

Peron’s wild-but-true story—how he stated a “pot pharmacy social club” and wound up becoming an important figure in the fight for change during the AIDS epidemic—is the basis for a mind altering blowing new documentary, Join The Club, from filmmakers Kip Andersen and Chris O’Connell.

After he was drafted in the Vietnam War, the native New Yorker came out as gay and relocated to the Castro, where he began to sell weed in underground markets. With business booming, the politically involved Peron shared the wealth with his community, even supporting the campaign of his friend Harvey Milk.

Dennis Peron (left) & Harvey Milk (right) | Image Credit: ‘Join The Club,’ A.U.M. Films

And when the global AIDS epidemic made its way to San Francisco in the ’80s, he started to see cannabis in a whole new way. His partner, Jonathan West, lived with the disease for many years and, in Peron’s words, marijuana is what kept him alive.

Though West would pass in 1990, Peron recognized the medical benefits of weed could change—and save—lives.

In ’91, he successfully campaigned the state government to allow medical cannabis, and that same year he finally (officially) opened the San Francisco Cannabis Buyers Club, the first of its kind.

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Dubbed “The McDonald’s Of Marijuana” by local news,” Peron’s operation was more than just a business—it welcomed in people of all backgrounds, fostered a community, and even helped provide housing to folks with nowhere else to go.

Through his work, he built a massive social services project for the city, one that brought together and affected great change for the AIDS community and those working in drug policy reform.

Image Credit: ‘Join The Club,’ A.U.M. Films

All of that and so, so much more gets explored in Join The Club, which engagingly blends together archival footage and testimony from those who lives were impacted by the Cannabis Buyers Club—those who were members, those who fought against it, those inspired by Peron’s activism, and even Peron himself, in one of his final interviews before he passed in 2018.

In a statement to Queerty, co-director Chris O’Connell shares what modern queer audiences can learn from Peron’s story:

“When laws are unjust one has to stand up and fight them and be persistent. One thing that Dennis Peron did very well was to mobilize people and congregate in places like city hall and government offices to affect change. Now more than ever, that kind of wisdom can help change laws and show support. Politics and laws are run by—as well as made by—people. People respond to people much better in person. When even a small group shows up at a representative’s office or a government building, it can be much more powerful than thousands ‘showing up’ online.”

The documentary is set to make its North American debut this weekend at Toronto’s Inside Out LGBTQ+ Film Festival, and will be available to stream via the fest’s virtual program beginning May 26.

In anticipation of Join The Club‘s Inside Out bow, Queerty is thrilled to host the exclusive premiere of its trailer, giving you a thrilling first look at this one-of-a-kind film. Check it out below:

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