Mary Jane Rathbun AKA Brownie Mary: The Grandmother of Medical Cannabis
In the heart of San Francisco, where activism and counterculture have long thrived, an elderly woman in polyester pantsuits became one of the most unexpected yet influential figures in the fight for medical cannabis. Mary Jane Rathbun—better known as Brownie Mary—was a waitress, a volunteer, and, most notably, a cannabis rights activist whose work paved the way for the medical marijuana movement in the United States.
Early Life and Activist Beginnings
Born on December 22, 1922, in Chicago, Illinois, Rathbun was raised in Minneapolis by her conservative Irish Catholic mother. She attended Catholic school but clashed with authority early on—at 13, she fought back against a nun who attempted to cane her. Independence came quickly, and she left home as a teenager, working as a waitress to support herself.
Social activism was in her blood. In the late 1940s, she campaigned for miners’ rights in Wisconsin and later worked for women’s reproductive rights in Minneapolis. Her move to San Francisco during World War II led to a short-lived marriage that produced her only child, Peggy, in 1955. However, tragedy struck in the early 1970s when Peggy was killed in a car accident by a drunk driver. This profound loss shaped much of Rathbun’s future activism, as she later came to view the sick and suffering of San Francisco as her adopted children.
The Birth of Brownie Mary
Rathbun’s introduction to the cannabis movement came in the 1970s in the Castro District, a vibrant centre for LGBTQ+ activism. She befriended Dennis Peron, a fellow advocate and entrepreneur, and soon found a niche selling homemade cannabis-laced brownies to supplement her income as a waitress. With her no-nonsense demeanour and grandmotherly appearance, Rathbun became a fixture in the community, peddling her “magical brownies” at a few dollars apiece. She and Peron sold cannabis from the Big Top pot supermarket on Castro Street, and her baking operation grew exponentially—by the early 1980s, she was producing 50 dozen brownies a day.
Her growing reputation, however, caught the attention of the authorities. In 1981, at 57 years old, Rathbun was arrested after police raided her home, seizing 18 pounds of cannabis, 54 dozen brownies, and other drugs. Though she pleaded guilty to possession, the sight of an elderly woman being charged for baking brownies stirred public sympathy. She was sentenced to probation and 500 hours of community service, which she swiftly completed at the Shanti Project, an organisation supporting people with HIV/AIDS.
A Mother to the AIDS Community
By the early 1980s, HIV/AIDS was devastating San Francisco’s LGBTQ+ population. Rathbun, having seen firsthand how cannabis eased the nausea and wasting syndrome associated with the disease, pivoted from selling brownies to giving them away to AIDS patients for free. Her work soon became indispensable, and she began volunteering at Ward 86 of San Francisco General Hospital, wheeling patients to appointments and advocating for their access to medical cannabis.
Her efforts caught the attention of medical professionals. Inspired by her work, researchers proposed some of the first clinical trials on cannabinoids and HIV/AIDS. Meanwhile, she continued her activism on the ground. She was arrested again in 1982 for carrying a bag of brownies, though the charges were eventually dropped.
Proposition P and the Fight for Legalisation
In 1991, Rathbun co-sponsored Proposition P, a San Francisco ballot measure that urged California to permit the medical use of cannabis. With nearly 80% voter approval, the city officially supported medicinal cannabis, a critical step toward broader legalisation. However, her activism put her in the crosshairs of the law once more. In 1992, she was arrested for a third time while baking cannabis brownies at the home of a grower in Sonoma County. International media attention followed, portraying her as a defiant grandmother fighting for the sick and dying. The charges were ultimately dropped, and San Francisco declared August 25 as “Brownie Mary Day” in her honour.
Her work was far from over. In 1992, she helped Peron open the San Francisco Cannabis Buyers Club, the first medical cannabis dispensary in the United States. Four years later, she and Peron campaigned successfully for California Proposition 215, which legalised medical cannabis statewide. The measure passed with 55% of the vote, setting the precedent for future medical marijuana legislation across the country.
Later Years and Legacy
By the late 1990s, Rathbun’s health was in decline. She suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, osteoarthritis, and the lingering effects of colon cancer. Cannabis remained her medicine of choice, easing her pain and allowing her to stay mobile. However, by 1998, she was too frail to continue baking, and she considered physician-assisted suicide due to her severe pain. After a fall in August 1998, she was admitted to a hospital and later moved into a nursing home. She passed away from a heart attack on April 10, 1999, at the age of 76.
Her death marked the end of an era, but her influence persisted. Her arrests had sparked national debates, and her defiant activism had played a key role in shifting public attitudes toward medical cannabis. The media often framed her as a kindly grandmother, a perception that softened resistance to the movement and helped garner political support for legalisation.
Even today, her legacy is felt in cannabis policy reform. The San Francisco Gay Pride Parade named her Grand Marshal in 1997, recognising her contributions to the LGBTQ+ and AIDS communities. Following her death, advocates, including Peron, continued the push for medical cannabis, eventually leading to broader acceptance and legislative change across the United States.
Brownie Mary was not just a baker of special brownies—she was an advocate who changed the landscape of medical cannabis in America. With a sailor’s mouth, a heart of gold, and a stubborn determination to help those in need, she remains one of the most significant figures in the fight for compassionate healthcare and cannabis rights.