As Mary Jane Rathbun mixed cannabis into her brownie batter, law enforcement agencies busted down the front door of Dennis Peron’s home. Mary Jane and Dennis were great friends. It was Dennis who first introduced Mary Jane to cannabis.
Police arrested Mary Jane Rathbun on charges of cannabis possession right then and there on August 25, 1992. This arrest was the third of its kind for the 69-year-old cannabis activist and she was fed up. She helped people with cannabis brownies and could not understand why law enforcement, or the narcs as she named them, forbade her to help sick children and adults.
Mary Jane posted bail and walked outside the jail with her fist pumping in the air where reporters waited. As microphones lined her face, Mary Jane boldly and unapologetically told the narcs what they could do in the Macy’s window if they ever thought she’d stop helping her sick kids by offering them cannabis brownies. Mary Jane said what she meant and meant what she said.
Meet Brownie Mary
Brownie Mary, the kids called her. Those kids loved her brownies, but even more so, loved her dedication, her compassion, and her genuineness. Sure, Mary Jane enjoyed smoking cannabis as much as any of us do these days, though its health benefits excited her more. She knew cannabis had the power to do good, yet the machine promoted it as the devil’s lettuce, a horrible drug tormenting humans.
Her kids needed those benefits. She witnessed firsthand how their pain subsided after they ate one of her brownies, how they again wanted food to eat, and how much happier they were. Mary Jane planned on making certain they got what they needed.
Mary Jane always had a big heart and a strong desire to help other people. She moved out of her parent’s home as a young teen, although her work in social activism gave her a voice in this big world. She felt most comfortable fighting for issues important to her. Mary Jane campaigned for abortion rights as well as miners’ rights for form nouns during World War II.
Changes in Mary Jane’s Life
After relocating from Chicago to San Francisco, California, Mary Jane met her future husband. The two lived happily together for several years, bearing a daughter named Peggy before their marriage ended. For several years Mary Jane lived as a single mother and continued her work as an activist. Then, tragedy struck when her beloved Peggy passed away in a tragic car accident. Losing Peggy deeply hurt Mary Jane who grieved immensely for her daughter.
By the 1960s, Mary Jane was involved with the anti-war counterculture movement and worked as a waitress at IHOP. She even began baking and selling cannabis brownies for extra money. Everyone knew her name and about those delicious brownies. Anyone could stop by Mary Jane’s and grab a tasty brownie.
After her second arrest for possession in December 1982, Brownie Mary decided selling brownies on the street was risky business. She took her cannabis brownie business underground -and it exploded.
She was ordered to perform community service rather than spend time in jail and chose to work with the nonprofit agency, Shani Project. This agency supported HIV/AIDS patients in the community.
The judge who twice sentenced Mary Jane to community service had no idea he was only fueling her fire -and the medicinal legalization of cannabis.
The children at Shani Project became Mary Jane’s children. She cared deeply about each patient she worked with. She wanted those kids to live their days with a smile and knew cannabis brownies had the medicinal power to put happiness back into their lives.
She enjoyed half a brownie each morning before starting the day as a pain treatment for her arthritis. She also had two bad knees. You could taste the quality cannabis baked into the brownies, as well as the love Mary Jane baked right into each one. She ate more brownies in the afternoons when her daily tasks had been completed.
Community Service for the Kids
By 1984, her community service requirements had long been completed, so Mary Jane began volunteering at the HIV/AIDS ward at San Francisco General Hospital. She baked more than 600 brownies each day during this time. She delighted seeing her kids and friends -the patients sickened with the disease at the hospital- eat a brownie and for the first time in weeks, felt hungry for food again or began gaining weight. She loved seeing the happiness on their faces and knowing that she had a hand in easing their suffering.
The stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS during its onset created immense fear in communities. HIV/AIDS patients were treated as second-class citizens in many situations. The fear of HIV/AIDS was real. Little was known about the disease at the time and treatments were few and far between. Mary Jane, contradictorily, treated patients as she would treat anyone else. In Mary Jane’s mind, they deserved the same compassion and concern as anyone else. Easing their aches, pains, and sadness by way of cannabis brownies provided Mary Jane comfort and solace.
Mary Jane continued using cannabis to ease her pain. She took her campaigns to legalize cannabis even more seriously after her third arrest. Compelled to help others and stop going to jail herself, Mary Jane testified before the San Francisco Board of Supervisors regarding the medical benefits of cannabis.
If anyone could testify about its benefits, it was Mary Jane. By now, she had consumed cannabis for more than 30 years. She urged the Board to reduce marijuana possession to a “low priority” crime, ultimately ending arrests and criminal prosecution for people found in possession of small quantities of cannabis.
Medicinal Cannabis in California
Several years later, Proposition 215 went into effect in 1996, making California the first state in the U.S. to legalize medical marijuana. Alaska, Oregon, Nevada, and Washington states soon followed. These days, more than 33 states offer medicinal cannabis for adult use, and several offer recreational cannabis.
Brownie Mary, Don Peron, and a third friend then opened the San Francisco Cannabis Buyers Club. This time, the narcs left them to be. They sold brownie after brownie without one incident. The trio, particularly Mary Jane, were relieved they could now provide cannabis brownies without fear of going to jail.
Shortly after the passage of Prop 215, Mary Jane’s health took a turn for the worse. Osteoarthritis caused her to stay home more often, while health ailments like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and colon cancer also affected her. Mary Jane chose medical marijuana as her pain treatment.
“When and if they legalize it, I’ll sell my brownie recipe to Betty Crocker or Duncan Hines and take the profits and buy an old Victorian for my kids with AIDS.”- Mary Jane Rathbun
The Loss of an Icon
The world lost an amazing woman on April 10, 1999, when Brownie Mary passed away from a heart attack at 76 years old. Mary Jane passed away more than 20 years ago, although her contributions to the cannabis industry ensured her legacy and memory live on.
She took that delicious cannabis brownie recipe to the grave with her. We could never compare our Chocolate Chip Brownie cannacookie to Mary Jane’s brownies, but we’re nonetheless positive you’ll find it a tasty alternative that gets the job done!
The New York Times called Brownie Mary the “Florence Nightingale of the medical marijuana movement” back in 1996. The paper stated:
“If marijuana is ever legalized and ‘magic brownie’ mixes ever appear on the shelves of America’s supermarkets, there will be one obvious candidate to become the Betty Crocker, the Mrs. Field, the Sara Lee, of cannabis baking. Her name, as almost any San Franciscan can tell you, is Brownie Mary. Her real name is Mary Rathbun. But her famous brownies, her great kindness to AIDS patients, and her repeated arrests have made her such a public figure here that no last names were needed when, for example, the city officially declared Aug. 25, 1992, to be Brownie Mary Day.”
Brownie Mary Jane
As Mary Jane Rathbun mixed cannabis into her brownie batter, law enforcement agencies busted down the front door of Dennis Peron’s home. Mary Jane and Dennis were great friends. It was Dennis who first introduced Mary Jane to cannabis.
Police arrested Mary Jane Rathbun on charges of cannabis possession right then and there on August 25, 1992. This arrest was the third of its kind for the 69-year-old cannabis activist and she was fed up. She helped people with cannabis brownies and could not understand why law enforcement, or the narcs as she named them, forbade her to help sick children and adults.
Mary Jane posted bail and walked outside the jail with her fist pumping in the air where reporters waited. As microphones lined her face, Mary Jane boldly and unapologetically told the narcs what they could do in the Macy’s window if they ever thought she’d stop helping her sick kids by offering them cannabis brownies. Mary Jane said what she meant and meant what she said.
Meet Brownie Mary
Brownie Mary, the kids called her. Those kids loved her brownies, but even more so, loved her dedication, her compassion, and her genuineness. Sure, Mary Jane enjoyed smoking cannabis as much as any of us do these days, though its health benefits excited her more. She knew cannabis had the power to do good, yet the machine promoted it as the devil’s lettuce, a horrible drug tormenting humans.
Her kids needed those benefits. She witnessed firsthand how their pain subsided after they ate one of her brownies, how they again wanted food to eat, and how much happier they were. Mary Jane planned on making certain they got what they needed.
Mary Jane always had a big heart and a strong desire to help other people. She moved out of her parent’s home as a young teen, although her work in social activism gave her a voice in this big world. She felt most comfortable fighting for issues important to her. Mary Jane campaigned for abortion rights as well as miners’ rights for form nouns during World War II.
Changes in Mary Jane’s Life
After relocating from Chicago to San Francisco, California, Mary Jane met her future husband. The two lived happily together for several years, bearing a daughter named Peggy before their marriage ended. For several years Mary Jane lived as a single mother and continued her work as an activist. Then, tragedy struck when her beloved Peggy passed away in a tragic car accident. Losing Peggy deeply hurt Mary Jane who grieved immensely for her daughter.
By the 1960s, Mary Jane was involved with the anti-war counterculture movement and worked as a waitress at IHOP. She even began baking and selling cannabis brownies for extra money. Everyone knew her name and about those delicious brownies. Anyone could stop by Mary Jane’s and grab a tasty brownie.
After her second arrest for possession in December 1982, Brownie Mary decided selling brownies on the street was risky business. She took her cannabis brownie business underground -and it exploded.
She was ordered to perform community service rather than spend time in jail and chose to work with the nonprofit agency, Shani Project. This agency supported HIV/AIDS patients in the community.
The judge who twice sentenced Mary Jane to community service had no idea he was only fueling her fire -and the medicinal legalization of cannabis.
The children at Shani Project became Mary Jane’s children. She cared deeply about each patient she worked with. She wanted those kids to live their days with a smile and knew cannabis brownies had the medicinal power to put happiness back into their lives.
She enjoyed half a brownie each morning before starting the day as a pain treatment for her arthritis. She also had two bad knees. You could taste the quality cannabis baked into the brownies, as well as the love Mary Jane baked right into each one. She ate more brownies in the afternoons when her daily tasks had been completed.
Community Service for the Kids
By 1984, her community service requirements had long been completed, so Mary Jane began volunteering at the HIV/AIDS ward at San Francisco General Hospital. She baked more than 600 brownies each day during this time. She delighted seeing her kids and friends -the patients sickened with the disease at the hospital- eat a brownie and for the first time in weeks, felt hungry for food again or began gaining weight. She loved seeing the happiness on their faces and knowing that she had a hand in easing their suffering.
The stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS during its onset created immense fear in communities. HIV/AIDS patients were treated as second-class citizens in many situations. The fear of HIV/AIDS was real. Little was known about the disease at the time and treatments were few and far between. Mary Jane, contradictorily, treated patients as she would treat anyone else. In Mary Jane’s mind, they deserved the same compassion and concern as anyone else. Easing their aches, pains, and sadness by way of cannabis brownies provided Mary Jane comfort and solace.
Mary Jane continued using cannabis to ease her pain. She took her campaigns to legalize cannabis even more seriously after her third arrest. Compelled to help others and stop going to jail herself, Mary Jane testified before the San Francisco Board of Supervisors regarding the medical benefits of cannabis.
If anyone could testify about its benefits, it was Mary Jane. By now, she had consumed cannabis for more than 30 years. She urged the Board to reduce marijuana possession to a “low priority” crime, ultimately ending arrests and criminal prosecution for people found in possession of small quantities of cannabis.
Medicinal Cannabis in California
Several years later, Proposition 215 went into effect in 1996, making California the first state in the U.S. to legalize medical marijuana. Alaska, Oregon, Nevada, and Washington states soon followed. These days, more than 33 states offer medicinal cannabis for adult use, and several offer recreational cannabis.
Brownie Mary, Don Peron, and a third friend then opened the San Francisco Cannabis Buyers Club. This time, the narcs left them to be. They sold brownie after brownie without one incident. The trio, particularly Mary Jane, were relieved they could now provide cannabis brownies without fear of going to jail.
Shortly after the passage of Prop 215, Mary Jane’s health took a turn for the worse. Osteoarthritis caused her to stay home more often, while health ailments like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and colon cancer also affected her. Mary Jane chose medical marijuana as her pain treatment.
“When and if they legalize it, I’ll sell my brownie recipe to Betty Crocker or Duncan Hines and take the profits and buy an old Victorian for my kids with AIDS.”- Mary Jane Rathbun
The Loss of an Icon
The world lost an amazing woman on April 10, 1999, when Brownie Mary passed away from a heart attack at 76 years old. Mary Jane passed away more than 20 years ago, although her contributions to the cannabis industry ensured her legacy and memory live on.
She took that delicious cannabis brownie recipe to the grave with her. We could never compare our Chocolate Chip Brownie cannacookie to Mary Jane’s brownies, but we’re nonetheless positive you’ll find it a tasty alternative that gets the job done!
The New York Times called Brownie Mary the “Florence Nightingale of the medical marijuana movement” back in 1996. The paper stated:
“If marijuana is ever legalized and ‘magic brownie’ mixes ever appear on the shelves of America’s supermarkets, there will be one obvious candidate to become the Betty Crocker, the Mrs. Field, the Sara Lee, of cannabis baking. Her name, as almost any San Franciscan can tell you, is Brownie Mary. Her real name is Mary Rathbun. But her famous brownies, her great kindness to AIDS patients, and her repeated arrests have made her such a public figure here that no last names were needed when, for example, the city officially declared Aug. 25, 1992, to be Brownie Mary Day.”