Prominent Canadian cannabis activist Jerry Martin has died

Jerry Martin, who advocated for a safer supply of drugs, died by accidental overdose a few days ago. He was a legend of Canadian cannabis activism, who made a major impact in both British Columbia and Saskatchewan. He was challenging the government both in the courts and on the streets, especially around the criminalization of drug use. He believed in a person's freedom to choose, and in education and support over punishment and stigma. His troubled past included addiction to hard drugs, which helped him understand addicts - and do what he could to help. He had a major impact and saved a lot of lives, but in death, is now being shamefully mocked by the government and their lapdogs in the mainstream media. Jerry was my friend, and I would like to clear a few things up.

That's Jerry, on the right, speaking with Neil Magnusson, another prominent Vancouver-based activist. I took this photo at a fundraiser night at Karuna, a Vancouver gray market dispensary, in 2018. It was the leadup to "legalization" - aka corporatization - and the activist community was gathering resources to fight the government from every possible angle, including in the courts. Jerry helped lead the charge.

I spent many days alongside Jerry in Vancouver, doing a variety of cannabis activism. He owned a dispensary in Whitewood, Saskatchewan for 4+ years, selling high-quality cannabis to recreational and medical users, donating over $100,000 back into the community. He made the trip out to Vancouver regularly, to participate in special community days like 4/20, Cannabis Day, and BC Bud Day. He was also present for protests, farmers markets, and legal action. He poured his life into cannabis activism.

In recent years, when he lost his brother to a hard drug overdose, Jerry began advocating for a safer supply and better support for addicts. He even opened a not-for-profit dispensary for hard drugs in Vancouver, where a record number of people die every day, and the government has recently decriminalized some street drugs. The opioid crisis has killed more people here in British Columbia than almost anything else in history, and the pace just keeps increasing. Even during the height of Covid-19, more people were being killed by overdosing on toxic drugs, than by all respiratory viruses combined. We are now averaging over 7 deaths, every single day of the year, and it's still getting worse.

Here's a short clip about Jerry's cannabis dispensary in Saskatchewan, from the perspective of mainstream media a few years ago:

Jerry was big on education. He believed that with proper knowledge, and the freedom to share it openly, we can improve our lives and become more free. He was passionate about giving people the tools to help themselves, including cancer patients using cannabis to put their illness into remission. A couple years ago, I adapted some knowledge he had released into a graphic to help patients figure out the right dosage:

That's just an example of the many projects Jerry and I collaborated on over the years. He was a force in the activism community, someone we activists refer to as a "general". A general is someone who not only does great activism, but helps to create and build up other activists. I'm here to say that Jerry influenced by wife @MediKatie and I in a positive way, and had a part in our success in grassroots cannabis activism. Some of what we have accomplished is in part thanks to the efforts of Jerry Martin.

Nasty media

Upon Jerry's death, the media (which normally refuses to cover anything he does) was quick to print hit pieces. He was a loser, his activism never accomplished anything, his death is funny, he should be mocked, and so on. It's what we activists can look forward to when we die - being slandered and attacked for our service to humanity. Activists are one of the only things holding back totalitarianism, and are not loved by governments and their state media organizations. We are censored and criminalized when alive, and spat upon when dead. We are doing some of the most important work there is to be done, and not being paid for it, and we get hated for it. Not by everyone, but by the system itself, and anyone bound to it.

"Man who advocated for drugs ends up dying by drugs!" went the headlines, before Jerry's body was even cold. The media invited the public to join them in mocking him, and many obliged. The stories could have focused on how he was desperately trying to raise awareness of the dangerous supply of hard drugs in Vancouver, and that his death proves the point he was making, but instead they choose to twist things around and mock someone who has died. If someone suicided, making fun of them for it in the media would be seen as incredibly distasteful. But for some reason, because Jerry had a drug addiction, it's okay?

The ironic ruth is, he was having an effect with his activism, and the governmedia has proven that - by attacking him after his death! If he wasn't effective, he wouldn't have been on their radar, and they wouldn't feel the need to denigrate him. Jerry held back the tyrants with his actions, protecting patients and addicts, and advancing the cause of medical freedom.

Jerry Martin, it's true you weren't perfect. You had a troubled past, and still struggled with addiction. You were passionate, and at times emotional, but for the most part you used this passional effectively. You helped a lot of people - fellow addicts to hard drugs, many of us in the cannabis activism community, the disabled and sick. You helped provide affordable (or free) cannabis to hard street drug users trying to get clean. You built up other activists. You fought for freedom, and you had a positive effect. If everyone put in the effort you did, the battle would already have been won. Jerry, thank you for the laughs, and the support, and the memories. You were there for a lot of the big moments. You had a positive impact, and you will be remembered fondly. Not by the government, not by the media, and not by people who take their reality from those sources. But by the people who actually knew you.

DRutter