Kenny Jenks Remembered
Kenny & Barbra Jenks at Times Square in New York City, 1991.
Medical Cannabis Advocate Remembered
Tampa, FL ... July 19, 2023 marks the 30th anniversary of the death of Kenny Jenks, AIDS patient and medical cannabis advocate. Project 50 has prepared a video to commemorate Kenny's death and honor the efforts of Kenny and his wife Barbra. "Cannabis & AIDS: The Trailblazers" is comprised of contemporaneous news reports from the time, including the Jenks' December 1, 1991 appearance on 60 Minutes.
The plight of Barbra and Kenny Jenks captivated America. A hemophiliac, Kenny was infected with HIV by tainted blood in the mid-1980s. He unwittingly infected his wife Barbra. The Jenks struggled with the powerful medications that they hoped would keep them alive until a cure was found. For Barbra the medicine was worst than the disease. She lost more than 40 pounds and was in a downward spiral when a support group member advised them to try marijuana. The result was miraculous. Barbra regained weight and the couple settled into a relatively stable period until their arrest for marijuana cultivation-- two plants in their Panama City Beach, FL home -- in April 1990.
The local court refused to accept the medical necessity plea and found them guilty. The Florida Court of Appeals quickly over-ruled the lower court and declared the couple not guilty by reason of medical necessity. But in a move that was indicative of the gratuitous cruelty of the time, especially with respect to AIDS patients, the State of Florida appealed the case to the Florida Supreme Court which refused to hear it, thus upholding the Appeals Court decision.
In the period of two short years, Kenny and Barbra became the face of the medical cannabis movement. With the help of Robert C. Randall, the couple obtained legal access to federal supplies of cannabis. They teamed up with Randall to launch MARS --
Marijuana AIDS Research Service -- in early 1991. The program helped AIDS patients apply for federal marijuana and was hugely successful with hundreds of AIDS patients sending in requests. The federal government responded by closing the Compassionate IND Program that, at the time, allowed a small number of patients to legally use federal cannabis. It was closure of this program that led directly to California's Prop 215 in 1996.
Barbra died on March 28, 1992. Kenny died on July 19, 1993, the day before what would have been Barbra's 27th birthday. Kenny was 31 years old.
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For further information:
Alice O'Leary Randall,
Phone: 813.360.1713
Email: aliceolearyrandall@gmail.com
Visit our website: www.aliceolearyrandall.com
