Pride Month is officially underway all over the United States. Here at Revolutionary Clinics, we’re as proud to support the LGBTQ community as we’ve been since we opened our first dispensary in 2018. We appreciate all of the LGBTQ individuals who have been our patients, employees, vendors, and partners, as well as our neighbors, friends, and supporters.
It’s awesome to see rainbow flags all around the city and inspiring supportive posts all over social media. However, many of us at Rev are old enough to remember the days when being openly gay in Boston was a threat to your personal safety, job security, and standing in the community. Some of the most significant advances in achieving equal rights for the LGBTQ community have come within the last forty years. Here in Massachusetts, many of these advances have been driven by an organization that started advocating for gays and lesbians in 1978.
We’re talking about GLAD, a movement founded by a Boston lawyer named John Ward, who was appalled by a Boston police sting operation that resulted in the arrest of 103 gay men. Initially, GLAD stood for Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders. Over the years, the organization expanded to support Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer individuals, became GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders. Today, GLAD is working harder than ever to achieve equality for all.
What does GLAD do?
GLAD’s mission is to “create a just society free of discrimination based on gender identity and expression, HIV status and sexual orientation.” do this through legal advocacy to update laws and expand discrimination protections here in New England and nationwide, pursuing cases that establish a precedent for the LGBTQ and HIV+ communities, and educating the public.
Roughly translated, GLAD is the voice of the LGBTQ community and, when necessary, a source of courage and strength to push back against injustice and effect real change.
Why does Rev Clinics support GLAD?
The stigma of being a marijuana user is nothing compared to the prejudices, mistreatment, and outright hatred the LGBTQ community has endured. Nevertheless, we at Rev Clinics feel a genuine connection with GLAD. As cannabis users, we know what it’s like to be judged, mocked, and disrespected. We’ve also seen some of our fellow enthusiasts sentenced to prison terms that do not fit the severity of their crimes, especially as legalization continues to spread nationwide.
GLAD pushes back against all forms of injustice, from racial inequality and unjust prison conditions to the rights of all human beings to marry and build a family . At Revolutionary Clinics, we respect that. We have also seen the positive impacts of GLAD’s work in our communities and how the state of Massachusetts has become a more welcoming and inclusive place right before our eyes.
How does Rev Clinics support GLAD?
After a year that challenged our entire organization in every way, shape, and form, all of us at Rev Clinics are thrilled to see the communities we serve shrugging off fear, shedding anxiety, and coming together in a renewed spirit of appreciation and enthusiasm for life. In many ways, the timing of Pride Month couldn’t be better. Pride Month is all about – being comfortable in your own skin, secure in your true identity, and excited for the whole world to know who you are and what you’re all about.
Partnering with GLAD to celebrate Pride Month was a natural fit. In addition to spreading awareness about who they are and what they do, we’re donating $1 from every tin of Mr. Moxey’s Pride Mints and Strawberry Kiwi Fruit Chews to GLAD for the entire month of June to support their essential work.
We’re also encouraging our patients to show their appreciation for GLAD and the entire LGBTQ community by recording a short video expressing why they’re proud to support transgender youth, LGTQ families, and the Equality Act. You’ll find instructions for posting your video on social in the video below or on GLAD’s website.
At Rev Clinics, we believe love is love, and people are whatever they believe in their hearts that they are. Whether you choose to record a video, purchase a tin of Mr. Moxey’s Pride Pastilles or Strawberry Kiwi fruit chews, or celebrate Pride Month a different way, we hope you’ll take some time to recognize the struggles of the LGBTQ community. Happy Pride Month!
