Kenny & Barbra Jenks

“Here we have a story which smiles at its own sadness. Fate has summoned us here to tell a tale of how cruel circumstances can conspire to open a door to Life’s better side.”

Marijuana Rx: The Early Years (1976-1996)
Robert C. Randall and Alice O’Leary Randall

Kenny and Barbra Jenks lived in Panama City Beach, FL. Kenny was a hemophiliac and contracted HIV from tainted blood. He unwittingly passed the disease to his wife. The couple was using marijuana to help them tolerate the side-effects of the AIDS medications. They were arrested in 1990 and reached out to Robert C. Randall who helped the couple secure legal marijuana from the federal government. The Jenks would captivate America and became the face of medical cannabis reform for two short years.

They were the co-chairs of MARS — the Marijuana AIDS Research Service—to help other AIDS patients secure legal marijuana, but as the number of applicants grew the federal government shut down the program which led directly to the state initiative, California’s Prop 215.

Further information on

Kenny & Barbra Jenks

The following articles are scans of original news clippings. For additional articles contact the Randall/O’Leary Archives.
Alternatively, newspapers.com is an excellent source for contemporaneous stories about the medical cannabis movement.

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Elizabeth Brice (a.k.a. Clare Hodges)